U15s find another level in hockey state championships
HOCKEY: Four days of round-robin competition wrapped up yesterday with the finals of the U15 men's state championships at the Warwick Hockey Association fields at Queens Park, Buderim.
18 teams competed in the tournament across two divisions and four pools
Teams from Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Cairns, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Mackay, Tweed Border, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Gladstone and Atherton travelled to Warwick to compete in the state championships.
Warwick was placed in Pool B of Division 2 where they faced Redlands, Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.
The Warwick boys had a 1-1 draw against Redlands in their first game of the tournament on Sunday.
The highlight of the competition came with a 2-0 win over the Gold Coast on Sunday night.
Organiser Michelle Eastwell had been busy officiating matches during the tournament, but said she was glad she had the chance to watch Warwick win.
"The team did really well to step up another level and get the win," Eastwell said.
"It was the last game of the day and the team put on a great display under the lights in front of a really supportive crowd."
However the Warwick team was rudely brought back down to earth with a 13-0 defeat at the hands of eventual Division 2 winner, Sunshine Coast.
Finishing third in Pool B, Warwick faced fourth-placed Atherton from Pool A in a crossover match it managed to win 2-1.
The win saw Warwick advance to take on Gympie in the play-offs for fifth and sixth place in Division 2.
Goals to Jordan Byrne and Joseph Brown gave the Warwick team a 2-2 draw against Gympie in the final match of the tournament, which saw Warwick finish equal fifth place in Division 2.
Both Division 1 and 2 finals were decided by penalty shoot-outs after both games finished 2-2 in regular time, Gold Coast defeated Brisbane in Division 1 and Sunshine Coast finished ahead of Brisbane 2 in Division 2.