This week we're inviting our readers to vote online for the individual, over the age of 17, they believe is worthy of being named our Guardian Sports Star of 2019-20 from May last year to the end of May this year.

Last week were took a look at our sports stars who no longer live in town.

Next week we'll take a look at our younger sports stars.

You can lodge your vote at cowraguardian.com.au by going to this story in our sports section.

Our finalists in alphabetical order are:

Paul and Pamela Braddon - Greyhound racing.

The Braddon kennel has been enjoying one of its best season's ever.

The husband and wife team have trained winner after winner since the start of the new greyhound racing season in January.

The COVID-19 crisis has restricted the number of venues the two can travel to with their dogs in the past couple of months but it hasn't stopped them from leading in winner after winner.

Each trains in their own right so online you can vote for them individually.

Since the beginning of January Paul has trained 37 winners from just 78 starters, many of them at the Dubbo track where he is dominant.

He has also lead in 24 placegetters.

His win and place strike rate is among the best in Australia.

Pam Braddon has trained 18 winners from just 52 starters along with 11 placegetters.

Frank Bright - Australian Rules.

When Cowra Blues vice-captain Frank Bright ran out for his 400^th game in June last year he did so having dodged the surest signs of football age.

"I've tweaked my hammy more in the last two years than I have in the 28 years before," the veteran said before the match.

"Fingers crossed it doesn't happen on the weekend."

It didn't, the Blues were soundly beaten however, the Blues veteran did what has been doing for many years, helping out when the Blues are going well and not going so well.

A six time best-and-fairest winner of the Geoff Day Medal, and multiple premiership winner Bright has played 30 years of Australian Rules football.

Jade Browne - Swimming

Swimming, like all sports, have been grounded in the past couple of months but Cowra's Jade Browne, (along with her sister Zoe who we'll feature next week) was recently recognised in the Swimming Australia top 25 ranked swimmers of her age.

Jade swam with Orange's Kinross squad up to two times a week in Orange last summer and also trained at the Cowra Aquatic Centre under the guidance of her mother Di Browne using programs set for them by Kinross head coach Kim Taylor and fellow coaches Jane Gillham and Jason Crisp.

Jade would normally train several times a week at Orange during winter but the COVID-19 crisis and Jade studying a Bachelor of Primary Teaching at Canberra University this year has disrupted this.

The rankings, which were released for each age group recently, tally the results of every competitive swimmer in Australia over the long October-April long course season.

Jade ranked 20th in the 18 years 50 metres backstroke after recording a personal best of 33.85 seconds last season.

Ben Cook - Motorcycle racing.

Like brother Zach, Ben was planning to spend his first competitive season in the United Kingdom.

Ben was planning to join the Poole Pirates in the 2nd Division.

Zach Cook - Motorcycle racing.

Zach was this year headed to the UK for his first competitive British season where he had secured a spot with Somerset Rebels.

His signing followed his second placing in the 2020 Australian U21 Speedway Championships held in January which booked him a spot in the World U21 Individual Championship Qualifier which was to be held in June and the U21 World Team Cup Qualifier which was to be held in May.

In June last year Cook was selected by Motorcycling Australia to compete in the 2019 FIM Team Speedway U21 World Championship Semi-Final 2 at Vetlanda, Sweden.

Matt Gilmore - Motorcycle racing.

Matt Gilmore was supposed to be heading off to Poland in March to join the Rawicz team squad in the second division, hoping to secure regular rides.

Matt was also going to join Zach Cook in the 2020 World Team Cup Qualifier later in the year.

In June last year Gilmore was selected by Motorcycling Australia to compete in the 2019 FIM Team Speedway U21 World Championship Semi-Final 2 at Vetlanda, Sweden.

Will Hodges - cycling

Will Hodges took out last May's Grafton to Inverell cycle classics, one of Australia's biggest road cycling events.

Young gun Will Hodges (Oliver's Real Food Racing) and Inverell local Dylan Sunderland (Team BridgeLane) were just 500m ahead of a strong chase group that contained Nick White, Troy Herfoss, Peter Milostic, Liam Magennis, Brendon Davids, Liam White, Nathan Elliott, and Marcus Culey.

As the chasers played cat and mouse going into the last kilometre, it became clear that Sunderland and Hodges were going to stay away and take the race all the way to the line.

The two-man showdown between the pair saw the young man in the familiar Oliver's Real Food Racing green kit Will Hodges take out his first ever NRS win to much acclaim.

Fast forward to the June and the 22-year-old Greenethorpe rider was engaged in another sprint finish for victory.

This time he was sparring with Sydney rider Tom Bolton in the Gunnedah to Tamworth Graded Scratch Races.

Hodges won again - although the margin of victory was closer this time, and came after Bolton's chain appeared to slip close to the finish line.

Hodges is a member of the Oliver's Real Food national racing team.

Guy Hubbard - hang gliding.

A former Cowra Sportsperson of the Year winner hang glider pilot Guy Hubbard continued to excel in the past 12 months.

In July last year the 38 year veteran of hang gliding took to the skies in both the Spanish National Championships and World Team Championships in Italy, taking home the open title at the Spanish competition.

It was a month filled with highs and lows for Hubbard, claiming the Spanish against a world class field.

"That's my best result so far," Hubbard told the Cowra Guardian.

The race was not Hubbard's main focus, with the veteran treating the event as a warm-up before his national representative duties.

Nevertheless, when he got to day four of the race, he found himself in second place overall, and racing against a competitor that had him matched for pace.

Hubbard chose to focus on his own race, a strategy that paid off for the win with the second placed Blay Olmos Quesada Jnr enduring an error ridden final round to give Hubbard a significant reward for his efforts.

Brady Kurtz - Motorcycle racing.

Brady was another top sportsman who had his plans for this year derailed due to COVID-19 planning to move to the Belle Vue Aces (Manchester) in the British top league this year after riding for the Poole Pirates for the past three seasons. Poole had opted to move down to the 2nd division for the 2020 season which ruled out Kurtz whose average was too high to compete in this league. Kurtz would have started the season as their number one rider.

Brady has also re-signed a 2 year contract to ride with his Polish Club, Leszno Bulls and for the third consecutive season, with Swedish Club, Vetlanda.

Todd Kurtz - Motorcycle racing.

Todd was all set for his 10th consecutive British League season where he was contracted to ride for the Sheffield Tigers in the top league before COVID-19.

In recognition of Todd's 10 Years of service to British Speedway, the British Association planned to honour Todd with a Testimonial Meeting at Sheffield before the season was suspended.

Sheffield favourite Josh Grajczonek and former Tigers' Rider of the Year and British Champion Charles Wright had accepted invitations alongside Dan Bewley, Rasmus Jensen and Nick Morris.

Kurtz said he was delighted with how things had shaped up and couldn't wait for tapes-up.

"I'm delighted to have put together such a strong line-up. My thanks go to all the lads that have agreed to help me out," he said

"I'm lucky to have made some really good mates on my travels who also happen to be really good speedway riders. I'm sure the boys will go out there and put on a good show for the fans."

Jeremy Montgomery - Rugby Union.

When the Cowra Eagles took to the field for a sudden-death finals clash against the Forbes Platypi late last season, they were also be celebrating the achievement of one of their most loyal and longest serving players.

Jeremy Montgomery, a 13-year veteran of the Eagles, was playing his 200th game for the club.

"It's one of those things that you play football for I suppose," Montgomery said with a level of understatement before the match.

"You always want to play as many games for your club as you can... [I'm] pretty happy to make my 200, especially given it's a final at home."

"It really started from when I was 17," Montgomery said, when he took to the field for Cowra in the under 17s, and initially thought at one stage he was going to play reserve grade for Grenfell."

Cameron Trengove - Rugby union.

Cowra's Cameron Trengove was part of a dominant display from the top NSW schoolboys side taking out the grand final match of the Australian Schoolboys Championship 58-5 against their Queensland counterparts on July 13.

The Saint Stanislaus' College captain was the only country union player in the side and said his selection was a surprise.

Trengove said the selection had made him excited for Colts programs next year (2020) and was grateful to selectors, his school and his parents.

"I think it was nice that the selectors actually gave me a look," he said.

"It would have been easy just to look at the GPS boys and CS boys, so I'm very grateful I was selected and coming together with a bunch of boys I wouldn't have met otherwise.

"We had a few clubs come and approach a few of the boys and talk about next year and the opportunities that are there, I'm keen to get into the Colts program and try my hand at that," he said.

To vote for your top pick go to cowraguardian.com.au and search for this story in the sport section.

Next week: Our junior sport stars.