SINGAPORE - Syed Hussein Aljunied was the fastest runner at the Schools National Cross Country Championships at the Bedok Reservoir on Wednesday

The Pasir Ris Secondary 4 student clocked 16min 1.66sec in the 4.6km route to clinch the B Division boys' title, ahead of Ruben Loganathan (16:11.26) of Guangyang Secondary and Er Wen Han (16:19.45) of Hwa Chong Institution.

Syed Hussein's time was also faster than that of the A Division boys' champion Isaac Tan of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).

Isaac, a Year-5 student, faltered in exhaustion with metres left to the finish line, but managed to hold on to win the race in 16:15.07, ahead of Raffles Institution's duo of defending champion Tan Chong Qi (16:26.25) and Chester Lee (16:31.38).

ACS(I)'s Gabriel Ng clocked 12:54.70 to win the C Division boys' event.

There were no surprises in the A Division girls 3.65km race. Victoria Junior College's Nicole Low retained her crown in 13:46.33, while Sharifah Hannah of Bedok South Secondary captured the B Division title in 11:44.20, and Elizabeth Liau of St Nicholas Girls School won the C Girls race in 15:27.30.