Prep runs away with track wins

Augusta Preparatory Day School's cross country teams stole the show Saturday at the APDS homecoming festivities.

Prep's runners set records and dominated the field, which featured 16 schools and some of the best runners in the two-state area.

In the varsity girls race, Augusta Prep scored 50 points to take first place ahead of Augusta Christian (63) and Hammond Schools (107).

Abby Alexander led the Lady Cavaliers, and her winning time of 19:47 shattered the course and school records. She also took titles earlier this season at the Isle of Palms 5K and the Stratford Invitational.

Alexander edged Augusta Christian's Rebecca Madebach, while AC's Sarah Madebach came in third.

The Augusta Prep girls also set a record top-5 combined time of 1:46.39.

"The girls were absolutely amazing," Augusta Prep coach Mike Burley said. "The race was very competitive, and very exciting at the finish. We had personal records set by almost everyone. Our sixth-place girl, Rebecca Shay, improved by two minutes and was easily the biggest reason why we finished ahead of Augusta Christian.

"And, our youngest runner, Susannah O'Kula, has improved six minutes since this summer! I can't say enough how proud I am of all the girls."

Augusta Prep made it a sweep in the boys race, as the Cavaliers totaled 43 points to top Porter Gaud (69) and Ben Lippen Academy (71).

Prep senior Ashwin Rajendra won the individual race with a time of 17:04. James Saffer of Porter Gaud was second (17:15) and Augusta Prep junior Alex Crean was third at 17:16.

Another standout for the Cavs was sophomore Ryan Kuhar, who clocked in at 18:36.

"I am so happy with my time today," Rajendra said. "I have been injured and sick earlier this year and have not been running to my potential. But coach has been telling me that this meet would be a breakthrough for all of us, and it was. We are coming back into form where we will be able to defend out state title from last year."

The next home meet for the Augusta Prep teams will be the Region 4-AAA and 4-AA championships on Monday.