JOANNE Harvey announced her return to top class form with a fabulous victory at the Saucony English Cross Country Championships in Leeds.

On the notoriously testing Rounday Park course the 20-year-old Exeter Harrier marked her comeback from a series of injuries with a performance of real class as she finished four seconds clear of Shildon's Kate Avery to win the under 20 women's title.

"I have been back training now for six weeks and it felt really good to win," said Harvey. "After the British Students' Championships (she finished fourth) I knew I was quite fit and I went to Leeds to win the race.

"It was my last race as a junior and it was nice to end on a high."

The victory goes one better than Harvey's silver at Alton Towers in 2008 and is hopefully the sign of a good year to come after a frustrating 2009, which ended with her struggling with shin splints.

"It has been a frustrating time but that is all behind me now," added Harvey.

In the under-17 women's race, Seaton-based runner Naomi Speake, who competes for Bristol & West AC, was 15th and twin brother Adam was 53rd in the under-17 men's event.

Colyton Grammar School's Emily Bliss just missed out on the medals in the senior girls' race, finishing a fine fourth in a quality field although with the support of her Exeter clubmates Anna Rust and Beth Camp, she led Devon to the team title.

Two other Colyton runners to impress were Lilly Helston and Patrick Livingston, who finished fifth and fourth respectively in the minor girls' and boys' races.

Isca's Rosie Chamberlain finished eighth in the inter girls' race and Okehampton's Tom Gill battled to fifth in the senior boys' event

Jenny Robinson ended her indoor season on a high at the Aviva England Athletics Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

The 17-year-old Exeter Harrier, from Honiton, knew she would need a personal best to even make the final of the under-20 women's 60m hurdles and she did just that with a time of 8.80secs, shaving 0.09secs off her previous best to finish runner-up in heat three.

Robinson also beat her old mark in the final with a time of 8.84secs, which earned her a fine fifth place behind favourite Sandra Seaton in 8.62secs.

That performance rounded off a superb indoor season in which Robinson has also won the hurdles in the South of England Indoor Championships and is sixth in the UK under-20 rankings.