The 2023 U18s State Team
The Western Australian Under 18 selectors have announced the side that will represent WA in the Australian Under 18 Championships at the Sorrento Bowling Club on Friday, October 6th and 7th.
With the great work being done around the clubs, the pool of Under 18’s players putting their hand up for selection is growing. This year the selectors have only selected three girls for the Championships but it is hoped a full team is not far away. A number of young ladies were very close to selection but it was felt they just need a little more time to develop as they have not been playing for very long. With many of our current stars in the game coming out of the Under 18 ranks, the Championships are a fiercely competitive environment. The selectors felt another year of experience and coaching before exposing them to such a high level was considered best for the young ladies in the longer term.
For the boys, two players return from last year’s team. Callum Alberti (South Perth) has been the standout competitor in the under-18 State Championships and will again take on the singles role as well as skipping the triples team. Callum has been building on his experience and will be highly competitive at Sorrento. Cam Wellington (Harvey) also returns and was in the Pairs bronze medal playoffs last year so will be looking to improve on that result. Cam will also look to lead his new teammates in the fours as the experienced skip.
There are three debutants this year in the boys. Zac Parker (Merredin Club) will play as the lead in the pairs and second in the fours. Edan Manifis (Osborne Park) takes on the seconds role ion the triples and the thirds role in the fours and Dante Burnham (Harvey) will lead in both the triples and fours. All three players had very strong Under 18 State Championships and have produced at a consistent level in all the squad practices.
The girl’s team sees the WA Girls State Singles Champ, Charlotte Byfield (Manning), take on the singles role for the National Championships. It will be a big step up in level, but Charlotte has shown plenty of maturity to be up to the task. Fellow Debutants Drew Gunson (Maylands) and Sophie Hays (Joondalup) will join Charlotte to play in the triples event. Both Drew and Sophie have produced in the trials and deserve the opportunity to go up against the best in Australia at Sorrento.
Coach Kelli Wray is looking forward to molding her charges into medal contention in October and looks forward to the support of the home crowd cheering on our Under 18’s.
| Under 18’s Boys State Team | ||||
| SINGLES | CALLUM ALBERTI | |||
| PAIRS | CAM WELLINGTON (sk) | ZAC PARKER | ||
| TRIPLES | CALLUM ALBERTI (sk) | EDAN MANIFIS | DANTE BURNHAM | |
| FOURS | CAM WELLINGTON (sk) | EDAN MANIFIS | ZAC PARKER | DANTE BURNHAM |
| Under 18’s Girls State Team | ||||
| SINGLES | CHARLOTTE BYFIELD | |||
| TRIPLES | CHARLOTTE BYFIELD (sk) | DREW GUNSON | SOPHIE HAYS | |
