A perfect season ended in the perfect way for the Aiken Prep boys soccer team.
The Knights held off Covenant Christian 3-2 to win the first South Carolina Independent Schools Association championship in school history.
Aiken Prep broke through after playoff trips in the previous three years had come up short.
Zach Harrington and Weston Peters scored for the Knights, who finished 10-0.
Aiken Prep rallied around coach Jim Wheeler , who survived a major heart attack in December. They outscored their opponents 63-13 during a year in which 15 team records were set.
"The Lord must have kept me around for a reason," Wheeler said.
PLAYOFF CHANGES: The Georgia High School Association announced a few changes to its softball and volleyball playoff formats this season.
The sports will begin using a format similar to the one used in basketball the past few years. Competitions in the first and second rounds of the playoffs will be held at the site of the higher-seeded team. That means only half of the schools will have to travel, cutting down on costs.
In volleyball, second-round matches in all classifications will be played on Oct. 20, rather than being split between Oct. 20-21. That will enable the GHSA Seeding Committee to complete its work in time for the coaches moving on to the "Elite Eight" tournament to plan adequately.
RUNNING WILD: Lakeside continued its strong season in both boys and girls cross country last week with wins in both divisions of the Abrae Gunderson Invitational in Conyers, Ga.
The Panthers had three girls finish in the top five. Anna Bowles came in first with a time of 18 minutes, 52 seconds. Katie Townsend finished fourth, and Sara Bowles ended up in fifth.
For the boys, Sid Vaughn was the Panthers' top runner, finishing seventh.
KEEPING IT CONSISTENT: A.R. Johnson's Rachel Bivens won her third Richmond County cross country meet in as many tries Wednesday, finishing with a time of 22:51.
Laney's Raheem Newton edged Westside's DeAndre Smalley by one second on the boys side. Newton and Smalley have finished 1-2 in all three meets this season. Newton has won twice.
POLL UPDATE: Screven County, Thomson and Greenbrier moved up in the softball poll this week, with the Lady Gamecocks moving to No. 3 in Class AA, the Lady Bulldogs to fifth in Class AAA and the Lady Wolfpack at No. 5 in Class AAAAA. Evans remained eighth in Class AAAA.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
Today: Augusta Prep at Westminster, soccer
Second of two regular-season meetings between rivals. Westminster won the first game, 2-0.
Wednesday: Region 3-AAAA championship game, teams TBD, softball
Tournament at Patriots Park wraps up the top seed in the playoffs.
Thursday: Aiken at White Knoll, volleyball
Matchup of top-10 squads in Class AAAA. The teams are also jockeying for position in Region 5-AAAA heading into the last two weeks of the regular season.
Reach Joey Jones at (706) 823-3304 or joey.jones@augustachronicle.com.
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