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St. Pius X senior named top Gatorade state cross country runner
Published January 23, 2014
ATLANTA—St. Pius X High School senior Austin Sprague has been named the 2013-14 Gatorade Georgia Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year, making him the first student-athlete chosen from the school as state runner of the year. Sprague is also finalist for the Gatorade National Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
Sprague raced to his second consecutive Class AAA individual state championship with a time of 16:08.37 and helped lead the boys’ team to its fourth consecutive AAA state championship. Sprague was also named co-Runner of the Year by the Atlanta Track Club, following a season that saw him finish in fourth place at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional in Cary, N.C.
Outside of running Sprague also donates his time to children on the Autism spectrum as a camp counselor at PEOTSI Day camp, a full day summer camp for children who receive Occupational Therapy for Sensory Integration issues (e.g., children with Asperger’s ADHD and children on the Autism spectrum). He has also volunteered at Atlanta’s Project Open Hand.
Sprague will run cross country at Furman University.