Steve Smythe begins our end-of-season merit rankings by taking a look at the senior performances

Jess Judd was not deemed good enough to train on the Loughborough track recently but the British 5000m champion was domestically on a higher level than any other British athlete and was top Briton at the Europeans, Liverpool, the National and the BUCS race. She was only ranked eighth last year.

Cardiff winner Charlotte Arter was a clear second (one place down on last season) as she finished just behind Judd in Lisbon.

Kate Avery followed the leading pair home in Liverpool and also won at Milton Keynes and Stirling, which compensated for a below-par run at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough.

Amy Griffiths had a shortened season like Arter and is followed by the busier and consistent Bronwen Owen, who was third in the National, Stirling and Milton Keynes and was seventh in both Lisbon and Liverpool.

Abbie Donnelly had an off-day at the National but was strong elsewhere and she heads Jennifer Nesbitt, Southern champion Jess Gibbon and Inter-Counties winner Charlotte Dannatt, who finished the season strongly but failed to win her own county title and was only 23rd at Liverpool. She was also only ranked 12th in the under-20s last year.

Scottish champion Mhairi Maclennan completes the top 10.

Dani Chattenton had half a dozen domestic top 8 placings and that puts her ahead of the more lightly raced Kate Holt.

Lauren Hall achieved a top 10 at Liverpool and places ahead of Emily Hosker-Thornhill, who had a truncated season.

The busy Jennifer Walsh places ahead of Iona Lake, who finished in the top 10 in the main domestic championships.

Philippa Williams was third at the Inter-Counties but had nothing to back that good result up and the top 20 were completed by European under-23 representatives Poppy Tank, Eleanor Bolton and Hannah Nuttall.

National eighth-placer Lauren Hayes and varsity winner Niamh Bridson-Hubbard just missed out.

Northern runner-up Georgia Taylor-Brown, CAU Inter-Counties sixth-placer Eleanor Davis and Midlands winner Gemma Steel did not have sufficient quality races to rank.

European under-23 champion Anna Emilie Moller won the National and BUCS races but the Dane, as an overseas competitor, is not eligible for the rankings.

It is important to add that these rankings are not a guess of what would happen in a race but our assessment of form over the season, with extra weighting given to the main championships and Liverpool domestically, as well as the European Championships.

Athletes who achieved the following were considered for the rankings: All European team; Top 15: Liverpool; Top 12: National, CAU; Top 10: BUCS, Stirling; Top 10: National, CAU; Top 8: North, Milton Keynes; Top 6: South, Cardiff; Top 3: Scottish, Midlands

Key of major events: BUCS: British Univ, Card: Cardiff, CAU: Inter-Counties, EC: European, ECR: English XC Relays, Elg: Elgoibar, Kerk: Kerkrade, Liv: Liverpool, Mids: Midlands, Mil K: Milton Keynes, Nat: National; Nth: North, Rots: Rotselaar, Santi: Santiponce, ScEDL: Scottish East District League, Sco: Scotland, SCR: Scottish Relays, SSC: Scottish Short Course, Sth: South, Stirl: Stirling

1 Jessica Judd (B’burn) (2019: 8)
2 Nat 33:20, 6 EC 28:05, 2 BUCS 28:49, 1 Liv 28:22, 1 Nth 28:48, 1 Esx, ECR 10:12

2 Charlotte Arter (Card) (2019: 1)
7 EC 28:07, 2 Liv 28:32, 1 Card 21:32, 7 Atap 26:29

3 Kate Avery (Shild) (2019: 4)
5 CAU 44:13, 30 EC 29:23, 10 Santi 31:03, 1 Stirl 29:20, 3 Liv 28:40, 1 Mil K 20:11

4 Amy Griffiths (AFD) (2019: 11)
15 EC 28:50, 4 Liv 28:43, 2 Mil K 20:15

5 Bronwen Owen (Leeds) (2019: -)
3 Nat 33:45, 3 Stirl 29:39, 7 EC U23 21:35, 7 Liv 28:57, 3 Mil K 20:18, 1 Yks, ECR 10:13

6 Abbie Donnelly (Linc W) (2019: 20)
9 Nat 34:18, 13 EC 28:40, 5 BUCS 29:28, 2 Stirl 29:31, 5 Liv 28:45, 1 Dub 20:50, ECR 10:02

7 Jennifer Nesbitt (Card) (2019: 6)
29 EC 29:18, 3 BUCS 29:22, 6 Liv 28:47, 9 Atap 27:21, 2 Card 21:59

8 Jess Gibbon (Read) (2019: -)
2 CAU 43:07, 4 Nat 33:56, 1 Sth 28:41, 10 Liv 29:23, 19 Santi 31:46, 4 Card 22:10, 1 BBO, 1 Oxon, Hants League 1, 1, 1, 1

9 Charlotte Dannatt (C’ley) (2019:12 U20)
1 CAU 43:01, 5 Nat 33:59, 4 BUCS 29:25, 9 Stirl 30:35, 2 Sy, 2 Oxf v Camb, 23 Liv 30:00, 14 Mi K 21:10, 11 Card 22:57

10 Mhairi Maclennan (Prest) (2019: 5)
1 Scot 39:44, 3 Nth 29:21, 4 Stirl 29:47, 2 Bobby Rea 19:14

11 Dani Chattenton (MKDP) (2019: -)
7 Nat 34:06, 4 CAU 43:55, 7 BUCS 29:48, 14 Santi 31:12, 6 Stirl 30:03, 12 Liv 29:29, 6 Mil K 20:42, 5 Card 22:42, ECR 10:22

12 Kate Holt (Stoke) (2019: 15)
8 Liv 29:09, 1 Rots 22:41, 6 Elgoi 26:51, 1 Staffs, ECR 10:13

13 Lauren Hall (AFD) (2019: -)
13 Nat 34:49, 11 Rots 23:28, 9 Liv 29:12, 4 Sth 29:35, 8 Elgoi 27:14, ECR 10:38

14 Emily Hosker Thornhill (AFD) (2019: 7)
11 Liv 29:24, 4 Mil K 20:29, 1 Kent

15 Jennifer Walsh (Leeds C) (2019: -)
7 CAU 44:36, 17 Nat 35:09, 4 Nth 29:32, 22 Liv 29:55, 20 Mil K 21:30, 3 Yks, ECR 10:51, NCR 12:18, 1 West Yks Lge 8/12

16 Iona Lake (Norw) (2019: -)
10 Nat 34:39, 9 CAU 44:51, 6 Sth 29:49, 11 Stirl 30:48, 3 Card 22:03, 1 Norfolk

17 Phillipa Williams (Sheff) (2019: -)
3 CAU 43:13, 6 Nth 29:45

18 Poppy Tank (Ply) (2019: -)
18 EC U23 22:07, 74 NCAA 21:06, 12 NC Mtn 20:20, 6 PAC12 19:50, 23 Verona 20:24, 16 Notre D 16:42

19 Eleanor Bolton (RVH) (2019: 10 U20)
6 Nat 34:04, 9 BUCS 29:53, 7 Nth 30:02, 7 Rots 23:09, 9 33 EC U23 22:36, 17 Liv 29:42, 13 Elgoi 27:32, 1 Cupp, 1 Lancs, ECR 10:27

20 Hannah Nuttall (Charn) (2019: -)
31 EC U23 22:28, 35 NCAA 20:43, 25 NC Mtn 20:43, 5 Mtn W 20:15, 77 Verona 21:10 48 Notre D 17:05

Click here for senior men’s rankings.