CAN Bathurst's Ollie Bestwick get himself two gold medals in as many months?
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That's the mission he'll soon be embarking on after recently gaining selection to the NSW Under 18s boys hockey side.
He's one of three Bathurst players who were recently picked in NSW squads, with Lily Kable selected for the girls 18s state team and Tayla Grabham selected in the 18s Blues side.
Both the boys and girls tournaments will be held from July 3 to 11 on the Gold Coast.
It's yet another experience in state colours for 17-year-old Bestwick, having previously represented NSW in under 13s and 15s across his junior career.
Bestwick said he had hopes of earning another shot at the national level this season.
"It felt great. It was nice to see all the hard work pay off over the last year," he said.
![Ollie Bestwick. Picture by Alexander Grant Ollie Bestwick. Picture by Alexander Grant](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YpbCWLfGAstDHC22gJwdbm/cca3584f-5624-443b-b1ac-229259a1b072.JPG/r557_210_4603_2969_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"This was definitely a goal for me. This was one of the main things I was focusing on, so I put in a lot of training and fitness work."
Bestwick took out the NSW Under 18s Boys Hockey Championships earlier this year with North West, where he scored the winning goal inside the last minute of the grand final.
The region is now his home for weekend sport with the Ryde Hockey Club.
"Training with the first grade boys has helped me develop my hockey a lot," Bestwick said of his time in Sydney.
"It's really good to see a lot of people from Bathurst and Lithgow who are playing up there now. A few of them have gone up there to play a better and faster level of hockey.
"We've had four wins and a loss in second grade. It's been a good start to the year."
However, before he heads off to the national championships Bestwick has more representative hockey on his plate.
After playing a major part in getting Western a title at the 2023 NSW CHS Boys Championships the Bathurst player is keen to try and defend the crown.
He'll lead the Western side at the 2024 edition of the championships from June 18 to 20.
Bestwick has fond memories of his experience with the under 15s NSW team three years ago.
He ended up coming away with the gold medal during the tournament on his home turf at Bathurst, with the NSW boys winning the grand final 4-2 over Tasmania.
Bestwick is one of nine players from that championship side who are back together again for another title bid this year.