For student-athlete Kobi Walker, long-distance running has proven far more than a local pursuit. The Moreton Bay College student has spent several years progressing through school, regional and state representative levels in cross country and track and field, ultimately being selected for a college running scholarship in the United States with the Mizzou Tigers at the University of Missouri.
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Kobi’s journey illustrates how involvement in school sport pathways such as Queensland Representative School Sport (QRSS) can help nurture athletic talent and open up competitive opportunities beyond traditional school competition.
Queensland Representative School Sport is a long-standing program that provides competitive sporting pathways for students across the state. It supports participation in 21 different representative sports for students aged around 10–19 years, offering structured competition from school level to district, regional and state championships.
The program is coordinated across 12 regional school sport committees and oversees development and selection processes for Queensland teams. QRSS highlights the positive impact that school sport participation has on students, volunteers and officials, and underscores the community involvement that makes the program possible.
In recent years, Kobi has distinguished herself in both cross country and track and field, earning gold medals in the state championships for both the 1500m and the 5000m. Her performances at state level helped position her as an athlete capable of competing internationally and were linked to her acceptance into the NCAA system in the United States where she now competes for the University of Missouri’s cross country and track programmes.
Alongside her sporting commitments, Kobi has developed an entrepreneurial side. She established Foodie Spread, a catering and grazing platter business, in her mid-teens, and later expanded into Kobi’s Kitchen, which offers healthy meal sachets intended to encourage balanced nutrition. These ventures have become part of her broader focus on wellbeing and healthy lifestyle promotion.
Moreton Bay College supports a broad range of sports and competitive opportunities, emphasising participation and achievement across diverse activities including cross country, team sports and championship events, with many students progressing through school and external competitive pathways.
Queensland Representative School Sport itself has a rich competitive history. For more than a century, students who participated in the programme have gone on to national and international success.
Among those who progressed through Queensland’s representative system are Olympic champions in athletics and swimming, as well as world champions and elite performers in a range of sports. These include standout athletes such as Cathy Freeman and Sally Pearson in athletics, Grant Hackett in swimming, Emma Snowsill in triathlon, and elite golfers and surfers who competed at the highest level. The programme also recognises the contributions of volunteer officials, referees, umpires, and teachers who support young athletes in competition.
For young athletes in Manly West and throughout Queensland, Kobi’s achievements reinforce the value of school sporting pathways. Her progression from local competition to international collegiate sport highlights the opportunities that structured representative sport can create for committed students. It also underscores how participation, resilience and community support contribute to broader personal development.
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As Kobi continues her athletic and academic journey overseas, her story serves as a reminder of how Queensland Representative School Sport can provide a foundation for future success — on tracks, in classrooms and within wider communities.
Published 17-December-2025
