Byrne Creek junior Jemal Reta finished in the top 10 at the B.C. high school boys' cross-country championships in Prince George on Saturday.
The 14-year-old Grade 10 student placed eighth overall just one one minute behind individual champion Tim Delcourt of Kwantlen Park in a time of 23: 36 over a muddy and snow-laden 6.3-kilometre course at D.P. Todd Secondary school.
"I'm very happy with (my finish). It was freezing," said Reta, an Ethiopian-born runner who emigrated from the Sudan to Canada in 2005. "I think (the others) were used to running in the snow. They kept up a very fast pace."
With snow as deep as 10 centimetres in some spots and the temperature at -3 Celsius, Reta was the youngest finisher among the top-22 runners.
"It was a very hard course. At one point there was a downhill covered with mud and snow and it was very slippery," he said.
Ben Weir of Glenlyon-Norfolk and Liam Kennell of Oak Bay placed second and third, respectively, just seconds behind Delcourt.
Kevin Charpentier of Moscrop was the next closest Burnaby runner, finishing in 101st place in a time of 26: 31.
The Burnaby Central and Burnaby Mountain boys' teams placed 28th and 29th overall in the aggregate standings. Defending champion Oak Bay won the team title.
In the 4.3-km girls' race, zone champion Sophia Stevenson placed 72nd overall in a time of 20: 15.
Nicole Hutchinson of Sentinel took the individual title in a winning time of 17: 44. Miryam Bassett of North Delta and Nanaimo Christian's Marita DeSchiffart were just seconds back.
Central finished 22nd overall in the team aggregate. Semiahmoo won this year's team event, edging out defending champion and runner-up West Point Grey Academy. Burnaby Mountain finished in 28th place.
