MORE than 20 of Orange’s best young triathletes will compete against each other this week in the hope of national selection at the 2016 NSW All Schools Triathlon Championships.

Kinross Wolaroi School’s Ben Broadley, Tom Tudor, Luc Nelson, Harry Bryant, Ethan Buesnel, Charlotte Simmons, Maggie Smith, Connor Whiteley, Jack Bilton, Kelsey Gray and Georgie Booth will all compete at the state titles at Penrith International Regatta Centre.

Orange High School’s Lauren Kerwick and Bree Willis will also compete, as will James Sheahan Catholic High School’s Rory Thornhill, Jessie Dean, Xanthe Keegan, Abby Dean, Bonnie Keegan, Annie Lockwood, Brittany Wills and Marnie Lenehan.

Former Orange guns Sam Broadley, now at Shore, and Kambala’s Sophie Broadley will also race.

All of the group will compete for their respective schools in individual and team events across the junior, intermediate and senior divisions, but they all train as part of former professional triathlete Mel Ashton-Garard’s HyPER Hy Performance Endurance Racing squad.

She said she was confident of the group bringing a number of medals home in the individual events along with the team events, where they’ll be joined by specialist athletes from their schools.

“I’m quite excited that it’s not just one school any more[(in Kinross], there’s several going,” Ashton-Garard said.

“They’ll be racing as individuals on Wednesday and then as teams on Thursday. It’s a little bit different this year though... it’s really exciting, previously it has been a non-drafting event, meaning they couldn’t sit as a pack on the bike.

“But this year, like we’d see at the Olympic Games, the senior and intermediate divisions are draft legal ... the junior category is year seven and eight but is still non-drafting, which is good.

“It’s a really good move, there’s been a lot of work done with Triathlon Australia and School Sport Australia, it’ll be that way at nationals too.”

The top six finishers in each category will be selected to represent their state at the national championships, and Ashton-Garard is confident a number of the group will qualify.

“I don’t want to jinx anyone, but Connor Whiteley will be one and Lauren Kerwick as well, I’d expect they’ll go through,” she said.

“But we’ve got some pretty good chances in the junior boys and junior girls as well. Tom Tudor is one, Xanthe Keegan should do well and so should Jessie Dean.

“A couple of the younger intermediates too, like Ethan Buesnell and Charlotte Simmons, those guys did well in the juniors. But with another year under their belt they should do well in he intermediates, even though they’re at the younger end of that age group.”

matthew.findlay@fairfaxmedia.com.au