GAAA youth road racing league comes to an end

The GAAA Winter Youth Road Racing League came to an end last week, with the final results announced and a presentation expected in the coming weeks for runners.
Once again, following on from the success of the winter track league, the road racing league saw similar participation numbers across three race days held over three weeks.
Starting with races at Alameda Gardens, the GAAA then hosted the second race at Rosia Road by Jumpers, before concluding the winter league at Little Bay.
It provided an opportunity for young runners—from as young as five and six years old up to 14—to test themselves against athletes in their respective age groups, with many taking part in their first road races.
In the 14-year-old girls’ category, Cyssi Alarcon Bravo finished first, with Isabella Bottaro coming in second despite having competed in only one race. This, along with the 13-year-old girls’ category, featured just two runners, with Olivia Roberts Patterson competing against her sister Sophie Roberts Patterson. Olivia came away with the win.
The 14-year-old boys’ category saw three competitors, with Alex Gordon finishing top, followed by Oliver Roberts in second and Itay Avraham in third.
In the 13-year-old boys’ category, six competitors took part. Marko Diamantopoulos finished ahead of Ben Gordon and Freddie Child, with Callum Brown, Adrian Hernandez Catalin and Alfie Child completing the field.
These age groups competed in mixed races, allowing for greater competition between runners.
In the 12-year-old girls’ category, it was a close contest between Alba Hernandez and Arianne Perales. Alba won her final two races to secure top spot, while Arianne, who won the opening race, finished second overall. Aria Hernandez Catalin placed third.
The 12-year-old boys’ category saw Ben Roberts Patterson win all three of his races, with Michael Byrne finishing second.
A smaller field than on the track saw six competitors in the 11-year-old girls’ category. Ella Orfila finished top of the standings with two wins. Matilda Child, despite winning the final race, competed in only one event and finished at the bottom of the table.
Luna Kate Soiza finished second, placing third in all her races, while Seema Lakshmi Aswan and Kaitlyn Bright came third and fourth respectively.
Sienna Mae Harper finished fifth overall. Despite placing second in the only two races she competed in, she missed the final race and fell behind on points.
In the 11-year-old boys’ category, Morgan Jess claimed overall victory after winning all three races. Eli Breign finished second, having placed third in each race.
In a similar scenario to the girls’ category, Arun Richman—who finished second in two races—placed fourth overall after missing the first race, while Scott De Haro finished fifth, having competed in just one race but securing second place in it. Theo Brown and Dylan Vasquez shared third place.
In the 10-year-old girls’ category, Paisley Louise Gerrard finished top of the table, while Eric Ollivierre topped the boys’ standings in the same age group.
Adelle Mena won the 9-year-old girls’ category, with Jacob Falero taking the boys’ title.
Eliza O’Shaughnessy and Rayaine Ait Lachen won the 8-year-old categories. Ariella Wright Estella and Stefan Cabezutto Jnr claimed the seven-year-old titles, with Lucia Gordon winning the six-year-old girls’ category.
The GAAA now turns its attention back to the track league, with a hill climb also planned in the coming weeks, alongside a day of competition that will see youth athletes from La Línea and Algeciras competing in Gibraltar.