Andrea Maas leads Ohio Cross Country Squad
 
Junior Takes First as both Bobcat Teams Place Third at Xavier Invitational
 
 
 

 
Andrea Maas won her second career individual title with a time of 18:36.12 at the Xavier Invitational
 
 

Sept. 10, 2005

Men's Results

Women's Results

CINCINNATI - In the first meet of the season, Ohio University junior Andrea Maas (Cincinnati) rushed out of the gates for her second-career individual title, running faster than 34 other runners Saturday and leading the Ohio women's cross country team to a third-place finish at the Xavier University Cross Country Invitational. The Bobcat men were led by freshman Shamus Eaton (Uniontown), who placed 13th, as Ohio also finished third in the men's division.

Maas paced the women's field with an 18:36.12 mark on the 5K track, 12 seconds faster than the runner-up, Melanie Price of Ohio State. Her previous win occurred her freshman year when she won the 2003 Ohio Invitational in Athens with a time of 18:48.73. Her performance today topped her 2004 best time of 19:02.

"This time of the year, that was a great performance for her," said Ohio Head Coach Clay Calkins. "Coach Bentley and I were both real happy with her time and her performance. She was well ahead of the field."

Coming in at 10th, sophomore Kendra Churchill (Dublin) was also impressive, setting a career best time of 20:04.61 to receive her first ever top-10 finish. Her previous top run of 20:13.3 was at last year's Ohio Invitational.

"Overall, we ran a lot of the younger ladies on the team, minus Andrea and Kendra," said Calkins. "They both finished in the top-10, which were finishes that Coach Bentley and I consider to be good finishes for them this time of the year. We ran a young team, and we weren't surprised that Xavier and Ohio State were ahead of us."
 

 

On the men's side, Eaton was one of two Bobcats to finish in the top-15. Eaton ran a 16:34 in the 5K race, and was followed close behind by fellow freshman Todd Holbrook (Dayton) who finished 14th with a 16:44.30 time. Ohio State's John Ealy took the top prize at 15:26.34.

"All the guys were young," said Calkins. "We only ran five today. The top-two finishes ran a solid race."

Ohio State won both divisions with ease, followed by Xavier and Ohio. Rio Grande and Capital University also participated in the event.

Next on the slate for Ohio is a trip to Toledo, where the men's and women's teams will compete in the Central Collegiate Invitational on Sept. 17.