Two students from the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn have been recognised for their outstanding sporting achievements in 2018 at the prestigious NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC) Sports Association Blue Awards this month.

Brady Deaton (Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn) was a recipient of a Blue Award for exceptional sporting achievement in hockey and Riley O’Shanessy (Carroll College, Broulee) received a NSW Bar Award for his outstanding sporting achievements in basketball.

The Blue Awards recognise the top two NSW Catholic secondary students in all competitive and representative sports and are judged in the NSWCCC spirit of manner, attendance, performance and achievement.

Brady Deaton was an outstanding role model at Trinity Catholic College. He was awarded Senior Sportsperson of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and represented the Diocese at many NSWCCC hockey events both playing and coaching.

When Brady was younger, he would play in the older division due to his talent and skill in hockey. Brady played in both U21 for ACT at the National Indoor Championships and the National Championships.

Principal of Trinity Catholic College Mrs Gaye McManus said that the College is very proud of Brady and his sporting achievements.

“He has been a great ambassador for the College and we look forward to seeing what he achieves in the future,” she said.

Peers describe Riley O’Shanessy as a modest individual by his peers who achieved to the highest of standards in basketball. In 2017 Riley was awarded Most Valuable Player in the Interstate All Schools Final and is currently training as a junior player with the Illawarra Hawks, taking part in the National trials at U20 level.

Trinity Catholic College basketball team manager Timothy Hodges said that Riley inspires those around him to give their best both on and off the court, giving freely of his time to coach younger school teams on a regular basis and leading by example with sportsmanship and fair play.

“Riley led our college team to wins at Archdiocese level every year from year 7 - 12 and to some great results at the CCC championships in Sydney,” he said.

“He was an all-rounder at the College who was very highly thought of by his peers, younger students and the staff. Riley has been an outstanding College Vice Captain in 2018 and we wish him all the very best for a bright future.”

The 22^nd Blue Awards were held at St Mary Star College in Wollongong on Monday, 11 February. Riley was unable to attend the awards due to him currently playing in the U20’s National Basketball Championships.