It's time to wrap up the 2020 National Cross Country Season, in what may have been the most disjointed patchwork of National Invitationals we've ever seen. Still, we're able to compare and contrast those performances through the use of Speed Ratings, and it allows us to drill down what a true National Championship may have looked like in the year that was lost.
These Speed Rating National Rankings are a little different than those in year's past. Traditionally, these would be formulated by taking the best singular performance of each individual runner over the course of the year, then scored. However, in 2020, we simply took the most recent performance of each individual athlete, then scored. This represents what a National Championship would look like: one bite at the apple.
One extra benefit to this process is that it accounts for those that suffered quarantines, travel bans, and incomplete teams. Because of the nature of the Season, teams were not always at full strength. Those marks have been fixed, to best replicate what would be a true National Championship, regardless of travel limits.
Boys Top Individuals - Click Here
Boys Top Teams - Click Here
Girls Top Individuals - Click Here
Girls Top Teams - Click Here
A speed rating is a number attributed to an XC performance, roughly one point per three seconds, adjusted for overall race quality and depth.