Junior State Cup 2024
Junior State Cup 2024, was held last week from the 4th - 6th of July. BMTA's Junior Mustangs Program had our 22 teams training every Sunday and attending three lead-in carnivals in preparation for the state event. The excitement around the BMTA tent on Thursday morning, having made it to the main event, was great to see. All 22 teams competed admirably and we would like extend an honourable mention our 12 Girls Red, 12 Boys Red and 18 Boys for proceeding to quarter finals and our 10 Boys Red and 16 Girls Red for proceeding to the semi final.
BMTA 10 Girls Red State Champions
Congratulations to our 10 Girls Red team who left Junior State Cup on Saturday as State Champions after their 3-2 victory to Gold Coast. Our 10 Girls Red had an admirable program. They entered State Cup off the back of a semi final loss at the Struddys Shield lead-in carnival, however knew a victory was possible after making it to the grand final at Gold Coast Cup (which was their first lead-in carnival together as a team) and winning the Challenge Division at Arthur Davis Cup. Congratulations to the 10 superstars who were lead by Head Coach Kim Palmer, Assistant Coach Amelia Fisk and Manager Angela Christopher. It is certain to say the team could not have done it without the ample parent and fellow Mustangs support the team received from the side line at each of their games. It was a true example of the Mustang spirit by all with a hand-crafted Mustangs poster even making an appearance on finals day.
BMTA 18 Girls State Champions
BMTA are extremely proud to say our 18 Girls also secured the State Championship title after an intense 30 minute battle against the UQ Rebels. The girls had everyone on the edge of their seats in the Field 1 grandstands as they were down 5-3 in the second half, but they never stopped working and produced a 5-5 score when the full time hooter sounded. With a two-minute drop off ahead of them, four girls took to the field, with Lily Neill pulling out an incredible intercept and running nearly the whole length of the field to win 6-5. Head Coach Wayne Grant, Assistant Coach Craig Nikola and Manager Chloe Nikola, can be more than proud of the girls for their performance. It was certainly a great way for some of the girls to finish their last year in the Junior Mustangs Program.
Mustangs Coaching Team
Our 2024 Junior Mustangs Program would not have been possible without our coaching directors, head coaches, assistant coaches and managers. Thank you all for the time and effort you put into trainings, lead-in carnivals, Junior State Cup and more! The smiles you see on kids faces as they leave Saturday afternoon, win or lose, is thanks to you. A huge thank you also goes out to parents and coaches who volunteered their time to help organise morning tea and lunch for our Mustangs.
Inspire Health Services
BMTA would like to shout out Inspire Health Services for providing BMTA with physio and sports trainer services over the course of the three days. Thank you to Shannon, Stephanie, Jordan, Angus, Lachlan and Patrick for your attendance and for making sure our players were well looked after, your presence was certainly utilised and appreciated by all.
Junior State Cup Referees
BMTA would like to extend their thanks to our referees for their attendance and efforts at the event - Riley Wotton, Ella Grant, Richard Brown, Olivia Waldon, Heather Shanks, Olivia Saba, Makaela Tepoorten, Kaelen Luu, Emme Jansen, Will Atchison, Kahlia Mills, Tory Mills, Zac Caton, Ashleigh Oates, Ashton Sykes, Jake Elias, James Roe, Campbell Muir, Reef Gilbert-Marino, Eva Svensson, Audrey Walker, Zoe Genrich, Blake Cooper, John Hamstra and Jordan Randle. We would also like to acknowledge our BMTA referee coaches, Brendan Jones, Rob Cooper and Bec Cooper, who joined the state panel for the event. A massive congratulations goes to Olivia Saba, Kaelen Luu and Will Atchison for attaining their Level 3 Upgrades and to all referees who received grand final appointments.