The MAAA 2014-2015 Cross Country League for athletes born between the years 2000 and 2004 came to an end earlier this month with the fifth and final competition in the series.

All the races were held entirely on grass and started and finished in the infield area of the Matthew Micallef St John Track.

According to ages, the young participants ran varying distances on a course that included long stretches along the perimeter of the grass pitches adjacent to the Marsa Athletic Track.

Running on grass proved to be an interesting experience as it allowed the youngsters to run in a traffic-free environment that is not always easy to find in Malta.

The idea was also well-received by coaches and parents as the configuration of the course allowed them to follow the performance of the junior runners throughout the length of the race.

There were a number of promising performances by various athletes and it was encouraging to note that the 12 winners of the various year-age categories hailed from no fewer than eight clubs or schools.

On the day of competition, other non-competitive fun runs for runners born in 2005 and 2006 were also held, and all told, close to 200 runners took part in the series.

The Winners

Boys: 2000 – Luke Mizzi (AS Libertas); 2001 – Jake Gauci (Savio AC); 2002 – Jordan Kelly (La Salle); 2003 – Daniel Caruana (La Salle); 2004 – Nathan Njoku (Qala Primary); 2005 – Michael Tabone (St Edward’s College).

Girls: 2000 – Kayley Bondin (Pembroke Athleta); 2001 – Thea Bonett (Pembroke Athleta); 2002 – Martha Spiteri (Żurrieq Wolves); 2003 – Rachela Pace (Pembroke Athleta); 2004 – Nicole Camilleri (Qala Primary); 2005 – Danielle Bonnici (Starmax AC).