RallyNorth.net

MANCHESTER — In her first championship meet test, Pinkerton senior Britney Johnson came through, and it's a good thing she did.

Johnson, the soccer and track standout doubling in cross country for the first time, finished eighth overall as the Astros' third ruunner to pace the Astros to their third straight Division 1 title with 49 points to edge a young but talented Bishop Guertin team by six points.

The Pinkerton girls cross country team, led by sophomore Meghan Cross, placed fourth at the prestigious championship race at the Brown Invitational. Cross was ninth overall in an impressive personal-best time of 18:08. Britney Johnson, making her cross country debut, was the Astros' fifth runner with a 19:22.

There were some highlights certainly, but it's obvious that the Pinkerton girls cross country team is not close to where it wants to be.

The Astros finished fourth Saturday at the Manchester Invitational and while it's true that senior Britney Johnson did not run and current fifth runner Molly McGaffigan ran in the freshman race, finishing third, several of the veterans were a bit further back than expected.

Led by sophomore Meghan Cross, the Pinkerton girls ran well at the Nashua Invitational Saturday, compiling just 62 points, but that was four points shy of New England power Champlain Valley and the Astos settled for second.