Last weekend it was the turn of the masters hockey players to bring back a state title. The Parkes over 35s team won the Division 5 state title at the NSW Masters Northern State Championships in Coffs Harbour. They defeated Newcastle 2-0 in the grand final.
The Parkes over 35s team went through undefeated in Division 5 with wins over Hunter 4-0, Sydney East 4-3, Newcastle 1-0, Far North Coast 2-0 and beating Hunter 3-0 in the semi-final. The goal scorers were Janelle Thompson (4), Somer Tanswell (3), Cherie Simpson (4), Kylie Butler (3) and Tracy Hambridge (2).
Parkes sent two other teams to the championships. Parkes over 40s finished third in the over 40s Division 1 competition, and Parkes over 50s finished fifth. Three Parkes players were presented with masters jumpers at the opening ceremony in recognition of playing hockey in their 50th and 70th years. They are Cheryl Uptin, Ally Eslick and Fran Dixon.
The results for the over 40s team were:
0-0 draw with New England, 0-2 loss to Central Coast, 3-0 win over Newcastle, 2-0 win over Sydney Northern Beaches, 4-1 win over Tamworth and 0-1 loss to Manning Valley. Goals were scored by Denise Gersbach (4), Carla Peden (2), Jane Grosvenor (1), Tracie Sams (1) and Lee Hodge (1). The results for Parkes Over 50s were: 0-3 loss to Northern Sydney Beaches, 1-0 win over Orange, 0-2 loss to Central Coast, 0- 1 loss to Far North Coast and 0-1 loss to Manning Valley. Megan Hornery scored the goal against Orange.
By Denise Gersbach