San Michel Road Running League
Cilia places first in second round
A large field of 109 athletes recently set off for the second round of the Road Running League at Ghajn Tuffieha.
With practically all the top male athletes taking part, a tussle in the leading positions developed immediately with Drew Lang, who won the opening round in Gozo, along with his St Patrick's AC team-mates Jonathan Balzan and Michael Gellel, very much in the picture.
Charles Cilia and Peter Azzopardi, of Libertas, Pembroke's Brian Magri and Mario Pisani, David Galea for Mellieha, and Zurrieq Wolves' Vince Ghigo were there as well. This compact group settled into a steady pace with Lang, Galea, Cilia and Magri occasionally trying to speed away from the pack. The climax, however, was only reached in the last 500 metres when Cilia sprinted home to victory in 34.17 minutes.
Lang, Galea and Balzan finished behind the Libertas athlete, at intervals of five seconds from the winner, with Magri completing the top five in 34.40.
With the first four in a team gaining points, it was the St Patrick's quartet that won this round, Gellel and Joe Pace being the other scoring members for the Saints. Libertas were second and Mellieha third.
In the ladies' league, St Patrick's athlete Charmaine Sciberras won the honours in 38.13.
The Saints confirmed their superiority with Giselle Camilleri, Cecilia Fenech and Carmen Hili placing in that order behind Sciberras.
The winners in the junior sections were Neil Brimmer and Josanne Attard. Nathan Vella continued with his fine form to cross the line first in the 5km race for 16/17-year-olds. Pembroke's Joelle Cortis won the girls' race.
Gozitan Kurt Xerri is fast establishing himself as an accomplished runner. He won the youths 3.5km race in 12.38. The girls' winner here was Lorna Mifsud.
Claudio Toscano won the shorter 2km course for cadets in 7.29. Running remarkably well, Marouska Cutajar, of Pembroke, broke the course record she set last year, finishing a mere eight seconds behind Toscano of St Aloysius.