The Final Track and Field National Ranking Lists for 2005 reveal that four East Lancashire athletes can lay claims to being the best in country.

Laura Finucane of Pendle Athletic Club and Chris Hart from Blackburn Harriers top the charts outdoors while Hyndburn's Leigh Lennon is a winner indoors.

Meanwhile, triple jumper Becky White set the longest distance of the year although her effort was excluded from the records because of a tail wind.

Under 20s Finucane and Hart represented Great Britain in the European Junior Championships at Kaunus in Lithuania in July, after an extraordinary evening in the unlikely surroundings of Solihull.

At the British Milers Club Nike Grand Prix on June 25, the first race of the evening was the 3,000m steeplechase. Hart clocked 8:58.47 for an improvement of nearly half a minute and a new Blackburn Harriers Club Record.

More importantly he dipped under the nine minute qualifying mark for the Europeans, the only athlete in the country to achieve the standard.

Chris finished a most memorable year with the ultimate encore - the fastest ten kilometre road race time by an under 20 in the country, 30:53 at the Ribble Valley 10K on December 27.

Nineteen-year old Finucane led the Women's Under 20 400 metre and 800 metre standings for the second consecutive year to maintain domestic dominance over her contemporaries.

Her best time of 2:04:02 for the 800m at that same BMC Meeting made her the only under 20 to beat 2:05 all summer and like Chris she backed it with victory in the AAAs Under 20 Championships, won in 2:05.0, to be picked for the Europeans.

Competing in the 400m she was fifth behind Sydney Olympic finalist Donna Fraser in 53.66 to restore her to the top of the under 20 rankings.

Becky White returned to the triple jump only late in the summer after passing her probationary period as a teacher, and was in a race against time to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne this March.

The Sale Harrier from Haslingden had one last chance for that elusive 13.20 metres at the UK Challenge Final at Sportcity, Manchester in early September and although she was in great form the elements conspired to defeat her.

Her best wind assisted effort was 13.51m - the longest in the country by 20cms, but it counted for nothing as the selectors instead kept faith with Ashia Hansen.

Earlier in the year White won bronze medals in the long jump at the AAAs Championships, both indoors and out, the latter in a season's best 6.22m which put her eighth in the ratings.

Hyndburn's Leigh Lennon emerged as one of the country's leading middle distance prospects after winning silver medals at the AAA's Indoor Championships and at the English Schools Championships in 2005.

Competing in the under 15 girls 800m at the AAAs Indoors at Birmingham she crossed the line in 2:18.65, but she moved up a class at English Schools for 2:13.69 in the junior girls race. While that ranked her fourth, the icing on the cake was the 61.35 seconds for 400m at the Trafford Indoor Open Meeting.

It was the first race at which under 15 girls had been allowed to run the distance officially and the victory put her at the top of the inaugural ranking list for the event.

Club mates Claire Bunting and Sarah Crossley rank third and fifth.

Great Britain star Vicky Gill won the AAAs Five kilometre Road Race title at the Horwich Carnival in June setting the fastest time of the year to date with 16:05.

The Chorley Harrier then missed a substantial part of the season through injury though still managed to reach the higher echelons of the track ranking lists in two events.

Catherine Riley was a national champion in the 800m as a junior with Park High School AC in Colne, but latterly has found senior competition tougher with the Trafford club.

Last winter produced a welcome return to form as she ranked second indoors for the distance with 2:05.51 to put her in front of Kelly Holmes. Outdoors she was 17th in 2:04.39.

Multi-eventers Eleanor Markendale of Pendle and the former Hyndburn ace Anna Griffiths from Clitheroe made their marks in the annual lists.

Under 17 Eleanor is the Northern Heptathlon Champion with her best points total of 4199 placing her 14th. .

Anna, who represents Wigan Harriers, was tenth in the under 20s 400m hurdles with 63.56m and was chosen for the shot in Lancashire's team for English Schools.

l See Saturday's Lancashire evening Telegraph for more athletics