ATHENS, Ohio—Ohio University senior Jason Linton won the men’s individual title and led the Bobcat cross country team to a first-place finish at the Ohio Invitational Saturday, while the women’s team used a third-place finish from sophomore Andrea Maas to capture second.

The men’s squad featured six of the race’s top-eight finishers, as they accumulated just 22 points to take first. The second place school, Concord, was nearly 50 points off the Bobcats’ final tally.

Linton (Vincent) ran a 25:43.9 on the 8K track, finishing more than 39 seconds ahead of the second-place runner.

“He had a rough race last weekend at Malone, dealing with some injuries,” said Ohio head coach Clay Calkins. “So it’s really good to see him do well. It looks like he’s in good shape.”

Sophomore Brian King (Richfield, Minn.) took third (26:34.0), while junior Andy Bittner (Lodi), sophomore Craig Leon (Van Wert), senior Pat Harvey (Zanesville) and junior Bob Wayner (Cincinnati) all finished in the top eight for Ohio.

The Bobcat women, who finished third at last year’s Ohio Invitational, took step forward in 2004, nabbing the second spot.

“They moved up a spot from last year, and it’s always great to be going in the right direction,” Calkins said. “It seems like every race we’re improving on last year, and that’s what we want to see.”

Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne took home the top spot on the women’s side, as they featured three of the top four finishers.

Maas (Cincinnati) ran a 19:10.5 on the 5K course to lead the Bobcats. Four Ohio runners crossed the finish line in the top 15. Junior Alicia Myers (Hilliard) took ninth, recording a time of 19:45.2.

“This was a good booster for our teams, going into the Notre Dame meet next weekend,” Calkins said.

Next on the slate for Ohio is a trip to South Bend, Ind., where the men and women will compete in the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday.