Bendigo sprint star Sophie Taylor continues to shine after she won the Ballarat Women’s Gift on Sunday.The 15-year-old was the fastest qualifier for the Gift, which was run at Ballarat’s Eureka Stadium.Taylor, the backmarker off a two-metre handicap, said the final boasted a number of tough competitors.“There were four girls in the final that had won it before,” she said.“They were of varying ages, there was one in her twenties and the others may have been over 30.“I was the youngest competitor in the final and I am really happy to have won it.”The Bendigo Catholic College student also competed in the Stawell Gift over the Easter weekend, finishing third in the women’s event.Taylor managed to finish third in the open 70-metre event at Stawell as well, where she competed against both men and women.“It was so scary (racing against men). They didn’t even start that far behind me and in the last 20 metres you can just hear them coming after you,” she said.“You can’t see them so you’re just out there running like a rabbit.”Taylor said she enjoyed her experience at Stawell because she had the chance to mix with some of the nation’s best athletes.“Stawell was really fun. We stayed there a few nights and it was really good because there were people like Tamsyn Lewis there and other Olympians,” she said.“They came up and talked to me, so it was really good to be able to meet them all.”Taylor will travel to Poland next month with the Catholic College Bendigo Athletics team for the World Schools Final.The teenager has had an outstanding 12 months on the track, including winning the open 100m crown at the Victorian titles, as well as winning the Australian under-18 100m and 200m sprint championships. Taylor was recognised for her achievements at the 2010-11 Bendigo Advertiser-WIN Television Sports Star of the Year Award, as she was named the Maxine Crouch Trust Fund recipient.