Sport: MILLY O'KANE MAKES STATE NETBALL TEAM

Congratulations to Milly O’Kane of Year 10, who was recently confirmed as a member of the Under 17 Victorian State Netball team.

The just-turned 16-year old will play for the Big V against the other states, at the National Netball Championships at Netball Central in Sydney, across the week of April 10th-16th.

She last weekend played at the Gippsland Netball Showcase in Traralgon, where the State team played their first official matches, against the South Australian Under 19 and Under 17 teams, and a Peninsula Under 23 team.

This State selection is the latest of many achievements for the 2025 King House Captain. In 2024 she won the League Best & Fairest in the Ovens & Murray FNL Under 17s, as well as the Wangaratta Magpies team B&F, and then stepped into the C Grade grand final team and won a Premiership.

In 2023, she won an Under 15 League Best & Fairest in the Ovens & King FNL, as well as a remarkable two team Best & Fairest trophies (King Valley Under 15s and Corowa Rutherglen Under 17s) having played two games each Saturday in different leagues.

She also made history in 2024. At our Athletics Carnival, she won 8 of the possible 9 events (the only one she missed was High Jump, which she missed to be being ill). We believe that is an all-time record.

She also won both the Athletics and Swimming Age Group Champion medals in the same year, something only 26 other students have ever done. She has won 4 Age Group Champion medals overall - only 9 have ever won more. 7 is the most ever, and she has 3 more years (6 carnivals) to come.

She continues a strong family legacy at the school, with her mum Kaye (a former student and current staff member) also a Netball League Best & Fairest winner. Kaye was one of our many Hildebrand siblings, including Ruth (now Costenaro) who was also a League Best & Fairest Netballer. Many will also know current staff member Harry and recent staff member Sally (now Benson). Harry, Bruce and Louise (Head Girl)were all Prefects.

Milly's siblings Ned and Ruby are also ambling moves in Sport. Ned has won both a Swimming & Athletics Age Group Champion medal, while Ruby has won 2 Swimming Age Group Champion medals. They are one of only 7 families ever to have 3 siblings win it. Only 2 families have more.

Milly is now officially our 1st girl to make a State Netball team in 30 years.

Our last was Kim Welch in 1995. That was Welch’s 3rd State team, having also made the U17 team in 1993, and the U16 team in 1992. The 4-time Ovens House Captain, was the daughter of two legends of the school.

Father Geoff Welch was a 2-time Head Boy Prefect, 2x Ovens House Captain, an Athletics Age Group Champion, and later a 2-time Senior Premiership footballer for Wangaratta Rovers. Mum Carmel Cutler was a 6-time Athletics Age Group Champion.

Kim herelf also finished school with a formidable CV. She was a 4-time Ovens House Captain, a Deputy Prefect, and 5-time Athletics Age Group Champion. Some family.

Others to make a State Netball team include Lori Delaney (1990), Kate Morris and Narelle Young (1985), Lisa Wilson (1982, 1984), Robyn Townsend (1982), Megan Hume (1980, 1981), Rosemary Brown (1980, 1981), Joanne Cesa and Kerry Fitzgerald (1980), Kate Clarke (1978) and Sheree Hartwig (1975) and Gretchen Hartwig (1973).

Robyn Townsend (Under 16) and Lisa Wilson (Under 15) both made Australian Netball teams, incredibly, in the same year (1982).

Those girls from the 1980s powered our Golden Age of Netball. We won 6 State Championships in 9 years - Junior (1980), Intermediate (1984, 1986) and Senior (1982, 1983, 1988). For good measure, we were also State Runner-Up 4 times in that same 9 year period - Junior (1982, 1984, 1985), Intermediate (1980), and Senior (1986), as well as twice later (Junior in 1993 and Senior in 2014).

Juddy

Sport Coordinator