Aloysians AC delivered an outstanding performance at the National Winter Championships, overcoming challenging weather conditions to achieve remarkable results across multiple events.
The club’s athletes demonstrated resilience and determination, securing podium finishes and personal bests in a highly competitive field.
Several Aloysians AC athletes claimed top honors in their respective disciplines including Andre Sciberras whose 5.54m mark in the long jump helped him secure a top finish in the U-23’s category while placing second in the overall classification of his pool.
Andrea Grech achieved double victory, finishing first overall in shot put (11.48m) and first in the long jump U-18’s category (5.74m).
Raquela Calleja displayed her versatility by placing second in both the 300m race (45.16s) and in the U-18’s category of the long jump with a mark of 4.66m. She also clocked her 60m race in 8.68m.
Anes Benallal, in his debut competition, earned a third-place finish in the U-16’s long jump event (4.82m) while also registering a time of 8.93s in the 60m heat.
In the 1000m female race, Maria Debattista left a good impresson, placing third with a personal best of 3:26.28.
The Aloysians showed good form in the much-anticipated sprinting competitions with Thomas Barthet and Saleh Najem both making to Final B.
In the final, Barthet battled a significant -4.2m/second headwind to set a personal best of 7.49s and place second. He had placed second in his heat as well, in 7.53s.
Najem, on his part, finished joint-seventh with a solid 7.81s, having qualified with a 7.76s from his heat. This heat included three more Aloysians in Gianluca Lia (7.77s), Andre Camilleri (7.81s) and Aiden Xuereb (7.84s, personal best).
Andrew Carabez made his 60m debut, placing second in his heat in 8.29s.
Meanwhile, Owen Portelli and Kylie Bonello secured personal bests in their 60m performances with a time of 8.45s and 9.43s respectively.
Ben Galea, 8.62s in the 60m race, and Martina Gouder (8.83s in the 60m race, 6.86m in the shot put and 4.49m in the long jump) contributed to the team’s overall success with their strong performances.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Caruana placed first in the EEC Mosta 5km, topping the U-23’s category in an impressive 19:12.
Aloysians AC’s impressive results at the National Winter Championships highlight the dedication and hard work of both the athletes and their coaching staff. As the season progresses, the team remains committed to further improvement and continued excellence in upcoming competitions.
Photo: Coach Edward Grech (centre) together with Raquela Calleja (left) and Andrea Grech. Credit: James Azzopardi/Athletics Malta.
