SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY
 Troika tough to Catch 

 By Quentin Bowler, Globe Correspondent, 10/8/2000 

      Three Globe All-Scholastics, Natasha Roetter, Molly Landreth, and Emily
Johnson, won their respective races by more than 15 seconds yesterday at the Bay
State Cross-Country Invitational.  The fleet-footed troika completed the 5,000-
meter Franklin Park course in under 19 minutes, the only runners to crack that barrier.

	For Newton South's Johnson, it was a day to remember. Johnson upset
defending champion Melissa Sherman of Dennis-Yarmouth in the girls' Varsity 
1 Large schools race - on her 16th birthday.  ''Oh my God, I can't believe I 
did that,'' Johnson said moments after winning in 18 minutes 45 seconds. 
''Happy Birthday'' was the reply from her teammates.  After Sherman led the
charge into the woods, Johnson made her move in the first lap, holding the lead
after the first and second laps.  ''I was expecting her [Sherman] to come around 
the corner,'' Johnson said. ''I'm really happy. I wasn't expecting it at all.''

	Roetter had an easy time in the McIntyre Division, winning by 58 seconds.
The Lexington star battled stomach cramps during and after the race.  ''Coach just told me 
to run how I felt,'' Roetter said. The 2000 New England indoor two-mile champion
missed the spring season with a stress fracture in her foot.  In her first major 
meet since the New England indoor championships, she let her peers know she is 
back.  Her goal for the season? ''I want to qualify for nationals,'' said 
Roetter.

	''Right now she's 10-15 percent better than she was last winter,
'' Lexington coach Phil Crosby said.  ''She's the hardest worker on the team and
she's the easiest to coach. I've never seen anyone like her in my 30 years of
coaching. She's special, there's no doubt about it.''

	Newburyport's Landreth won the Varsity 2 Small schools race but was pushed
by Arlington Catholic's Stephanie Nugent. Landreth made her move on the second loop 
around the course and beat Nugent by 29 seconds.

	Barnstable won the McIntyre team title with solid performances from its 
fourth- and fifth-place runners. Lexington finished second, 10 points behind Barnstable.

	Concord-Carlisle won the Varsity 1 team title, thanks to three top-eight 
finishers.  Hamilton-Wenham won the Varsity 2 team title by 56 points.

This story ran on page C20 of the Boston Globe on 10/8/2000. 
 (c) Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.