Prep girls win 4-AAA meet

Amanda Matheson has been dancing since she was 3 years old.

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The Augusta Prep senior says the skills she uses on the dance floor have helped her performance as an athlete.

"I think it just helps with knowing how to land and takeoff," Matheson said.

Matheson and teammate Maryclaire Regan led all female athletes during Thursday's Georgia Independent Schools Association Region 4-AAA track meet, propelling the Cavaliers' girls to a team win.

Matheson and Regan finished with 32.5 points each.

Matheson won the triple jump and finished less than 0.1 seconds behind the 100-meter hurdles winner.

"She's beautiful to watch," said Cavaliers assistant coach Maryclaire Regan, Regan's mother.

The Cavaliers' boys finished second, four points behind John Milledge Academy.

Prep junior Jim Hull finished with wins in the 800-meter, 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter races.

"We need to check him for lungs," an opposing coach said after Hull finished well ahead of the field in the one-mile run.

Hull wasn't even at full speed, his coaches said.

Since he was running in four events and was a lock to qualify for the state meet, Hull was urged to take it easy.

"He's just got to win," Cavaliers coach Mike Guthrie said. "That's his objective."

Hull finished tied for second individually with 32.5 points. He coasted to victory in each of the distance events, though he was running well behind his personal best times.

Coach Regan said it takes a lot to get Hull to scale back, and that he's always volunteering to run other events.

"He'll say 'Let me do that, I'll do it,' " she said. "We have to say 'No, slow down.' "

The Cavaliers basketball standout runs track as an aside. Regan said if he devoted as much time to his running as his jump shot, he'd be competitive on a national level.

"He's always doing basketball," she said.

Maryclaire Regan swept the girls distance events. She also participated in the winning 4x400 relay team.

She'll head to the GISA state meet along with Hull, Matheson and everyone else who finished in the top four of their event.

Matheson's goal at state is to be in the top four in the 100 hurdles and triple jump.

"If I jump like I did a few weeks ago, I should do pretty well," she said.