Wangaratta’s Christian Pasquali had a run he’ll never forget to claim his maiden Stawell Gift sash in the under 18s 100m on Saturday.

Running in the blue vest off 4.75m in the final, Pasquali had plenty of work to do to catch the front markers after a modest start.

By the 50m mark the 16-year-old found his stride and stormed home, making it a four-man dash to the line.

As Pasquali crossed the finish gates, he took a quick glance across his shoulder to see there was no one ahead of him.

And almost as quick as he ran, he was swarmed by family and friends who celebrated with him in sheer joy.

The photo finish saw the Wangaratta speedster a body length ahead of Alfie Oglethorpe in the green and Oliver Irwin in the pink in a time of 10.864sec.

Christian joined sister Bella and mum Anna as winners at the famous meet as dad Wally and sister Sophia were first to hug him at the finish.

“I’ve been coming to the gift for a long time… I’ve grown up around it and I’m so grateful to have my family’s support this year,” Christian said.

“My first Stawell sash and it will be one to remember.”

Pasquali ran second in the heats and semis, holding off fellow Wangaratta runner Dean Balfour in fifth as a 2m backmarker.

Going into the final he said he knew if he focused on his running fundamentals, he had the belief he could chase down the field.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge starting further back than the rest of the field but I love the chase,” he said.

“At the 50 all I could worry about was holding my technique together and just having a strong last 20 metres.

“It was an amazing feeling to have my family and friends run out.”

Pasquali thanked Todd Ireland and his team for welcoming him into the group in the lead up to Stawell, which he said pushed him to go to the next level.

In the women’s gift local runners Shauna Herbst and Andrea Hearne were among the masses competing for the prestigious sash and $40,000 winnings.

While Hearne fell short in the heats, Herbst was able to win her way through to the semis on Easter Monday.

In the red off 4.5m, Herbst made a flying start but was unable to catch Chiara Santiglia in the blue, finishing third.

The Beechworth runner and 2026 Wangaratta Gift winner said she was thrilled with how she performed, setting a personal best pace on grass.

“I wanted to run something similar to what I ran at 'Wang and I went faster, so I was really stoked,” she said.

“I honestly had the best start I’ve ever done [in the semi] and I just got halfway through and burnt myself out.

“I know there’s so much I can improve still which is exciting and slightly disappointing, but I’ll just take that into next season.”

Herbst said she would take a lot of confidence out of her runs as she set her sights on nationals at Sydney this weekend, competing in the 100m and 200m.

World champion American Sha’Carri Richardson set the weekend alight becoming just the third woman to win the gift from scratch in the final, running a 13.15sec to chase down the field.

Nine-year-old Wangaratta girl Lyla Allan came an impressive third in her heat for the Little Athletics 100m with a time of 13.4sec and 13th in her mixed 400m heat on Saturday.

Olufemi Komolafe would win the men’s gift in a time of 11.925sec, holding off 2021 Wangaratta Gift winner Jake Ireland.