BATHURST players gained valuable experience and returned home with several top 10 results from the weekend's Netball NSW Junior State Titles at Penrith.
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The under 13s and 14s both finished with eighth place results while the under 12s fought back well to end their campaign in 12th.
Bathurst's youngest squad found the going tough in the division two competition but as the days went by they began to find their groove on the court.
The team improved to a record of eight wins and 10 losses by the end of the tournament and that fighting spirit made coach Angela Best proud.
"It was a great finish. We lost a couple of games we should have won but won some games we should never have won," she said.
"I had 11 players which made it tough to get everyone on the court but they all played excellent netball.
"I thought they all played really well as a team and when the pressure was on them they performed at an outstanding level."
"Our highlight games were beating Mount Druitt, Blue Mountains and Lismore. There were some tough coaching decisions made to bring us back to that 12th position."
The 12-8 win over Mount Druitt was a special one for Bathurst considering their opponents would only go on to lose five matches throughout the event.
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Bathurst couldn't quite back up an earlier victory over Orange in the derby as they went down 9-5.
Will Burton capped off his time in the Bathurst under 12s with a great tournament.
"Will was just amazing. He's the first boy ever to represent Bathurst and we was outstanding. Every time he was on the court he was great," Best said.
Bathurst under 13s finished with the best record of the associations three teams, ending with a 10 win, six loss and two draw record.
The team got off to a flying start with five straight unbeaten games. Their best result was a 14-all draw with eventual runners-up Barellan and District.
Bathurst's under 14s ended with an 8-7-2 record and were thrilled to come back home with wins over Central West rivals Orange (19-12) and Dubbo (18-14).