Across all sporting codes and age groups Bathurst’s talents impressed. Here’s some of the biggest moments in our 2018 A-Z.

BATHURST may not have finished with a senior Central West AFL flag this season, but both the Giants and the Bushrangers clubs still had seasons to be proud of.

All three Bushrangers senior teams – the Rebels, Outlaws and Lady Bushies – qualified for the finals with the Rebels suffering an agonising three-point loss to Orange in the grand final.

On top of that, Andrew James and Donalee Delahunty won league best and fairest awards.

The Bathurst Giants senior men’s side played in the finals for the first time, while the women went all the way to the decider in their inaugural season.

CRAIG Lowndes marked his last start in the Bathurst 1000 as a full-time driver by winning the 161-lap enduro alongside Steve Richards.

The reception the pair were given by the second biggest crowd in the history of the Great Race as they steeped onto the podium was amazing.

AFTER almost 20 years of trying, Bernie Hewitt won the Bathurst Harness Racing Club’s Gold Crown Final.

The horse he did it with was College Chapel, the $1.90 favourite winning the Group 1 feature in a two-year-old track record effort.

BATHURST handcyclist Emilie Miller earned a pair of coveted rainbow jerseys at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy.

Miller won both her time trial and road race at the championships.

BATHURST brothers Harry and Liam Siejka united to help Poland to glory in the Emerging Nations World Championship.

Poland held off the Philippines to win the tournament’s Trophy division 14-10.

KURT Fearnley marked his final appearance in Australian colours by winning the men’s T54 marathon at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

But it was not just his bold solo attack and determined push to glory that made this a highlight, but how Fearnley spoke about the Para-sport and disabled community afterwards.

IT was a huge season for rugby league talent Noah Griffiths.

He scored two tries to help Bathurst Panthers win the Group 10 under 18s grand final, shone for NSW Country, helped the New South Wales under 16s rugby league side beat Queensland, and was in the Western side which won the Andrew Johns Cup. 

Oh and he signed a four-year deal with Melbourne Storm too.

SEASON 2018 was another huge one for Bathurst hockey talents.

Tamsin Bunt played at the Indoor World Cup for Australia and was part of the NSW Arrows outfit, alongside fellow Bathurst talent Jess Watterson, which won the Australian Hockey League.

The St Pat’s women won the Premier League Hockey grand final, Souths men qualified for the decider and there were more representative honours than – wait for it – you could poke a stick at.

BRAD Schumacher was a lucky man to walk away from his horror crash at Challenge Bathurst.

His Lotus V6 Cup Car R speared off the track and into the wall at turn two after suffering a mechanical failure.

A HOST of Bathurst Panthers and St Pat’s juniors played representative footy league this season while three teams made grand finals.

The under 16 Saints beat Orange CYMS 24-18 in the decider before going on to win the Western Premiers Challenge. The St Pat’s under 12s and Panthers under 14s made it to the big dance as well.

TALK about a pair of talented siblings. Will Kennedy shone in the Intrust Super Premiership for the Newtown Jets, while sister Kandy Kennedy played in the inaugural NRLW grand final for the Roosters.

ST Pat’s not only made it back-to-back Group 10 league tag premierships thanks to a 16-6 victory over Orange Hawks, but iced an undefeated season by 60-0 thumping of Group 11 champs Parkes in the Western Premiers Challenge.

IT was a huge New Era Cup season for CSU with all three teams reaching the grand final. The Mungoes finished runners-up to Blackheath, while Yellow won its fourth consecutive women’s title with a 14-0 win over Blue.

A RECORD crowd of 10,287 watched the North Queensland Cowboys beat the Penrith Panthers 26-20.

PERSONAL best times, three Oceania Track Championship medals and a coveted selfie with an Olympian – cyclist Eliza Bennett could hardly have imagined a better debut at under 19s level.

BATHURST Panthers ended its Group 10 premier league title drought when Willie Wright booted a goal to seal a thrilling 12-10 win against the Cowra Magpies. The victory marked Panthers’ first Group 10 premier league title since 2007.

JAMEEL Qureshi skippered the Bathurst District Cricket side to the 2017-18 Western Zone Premier League grand final where it remarkably tied with Dubbo.

BATHURST parkrun has experienced massive growth this year while the second edition of the Mount Panorama Punish was a highlight as well.

PANORAMA celebrated a big Bathurst District Football grand final day with twin premier league crowns – the women beat CSU 2-1 in their decider, while the men downed Mudgee 3-1.

THE Bathurst Wallabies won the Central West Interclub Triathlon Series for the first time, had six Australian representatives (Jodie and Dennis Martin, Mark Windsor, Fran Grady, Josh Stapley, Terry Roberts) and has markedly increased participation rates.

BATHURST Bulldogs and CSU both enjoyed a bumper Central West Rugby Union season with seven finalists between them, two competition best and fairest honours (Brad Glasson, Claire Woolmington), best coach award (Dean Oxley) and two premierships.

THERE were plenty of them this season at all levels. Well done to them all.

JAKIYA Whitfeld has arguably been Bathurst’s best performer this year in her sport of rugby sevens.

She played at Oceania titles with both the open Australian women’s team and the under 18s, helped her country to gold at the World School Sevens as she was named player of the tournament, and was the player of the series in the domestic AON 7s competition.

IT was an X-Ray that revealed that Bathurst professional road cyclist Mark Renshaw had broken his pelvis in a training accident in December. Given he had been training hard in the build up to the start of 2019, it was a huge shame.

WHILE there were a host of senior stars in 2018, Bathurst’s juniors were just as impressive.

THIS is the nickname CSU has given University Oval and it was the scene of triumph for the students plenty of times this season as they qualified for the New Holland Cup finals.