Fort Mill’s Alivia Cleveland keeps running and winning, named Gatorade Player of the Year
Alivia Cleveland doesn’t drink Gatorade; she only drinks water.
But the Fort Mill runner gladly accepted being named the South Carolina Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the Year in January.
“It felt amazing,” Cleveland said, barely restraining her excitement. “I’m very grateful for that achievement. I was not expecting that. I was very excited when I got it. I have this cool jersey now, and it has my name on it, and a trophy. There’s so many good runners in the state, I didn’t expect to be the one to be picked, and I’m forever grateful for that.”
Cleveland won the award after winning the 5A girls cross country state meet for the second-straight season in November, helping Fort Mill to a state championship.
Now, the sophomore has her sights set on a defending another state title in a different running event: the 1600-meter run.
Last year, Cleveland set a state record in the event with a time of 4 minutes, 54 seconds and has even higher goals this year.
“It’s definitely stressful because there’s a lot of expectation on me now,” Cleveland said. “My goal is to beat my state record again. I want to try to get in the high 4:40s. That would be a good end time goal.”
Fort Mill head track coach Dennis Stokes said Cleveland’s competitive nature is a driving force in her success. He experienced something similar as the coach at Lake Norman High School (NC) and knows the benefits and drawbacks of such intensity.
Managing Cleveland’s competitiveness has been a big focus this season.
“The way she works, the way she comes to practice everyday, she just forces everybody to raise their game,” Stokes said. “We’re trying to get her to realize that you don’t have to break the record every time you run. It’s OK to just win, but that’s her drive. She wants every record.”
Stokes also knows the amount of early success Cleveland has had puts her that much under the microscope.
Two years ago, Cleveland finished first in the 3,200 and second in the 1,600 at the state meet as an eighth-grader.
“I told her as an eighth-grader when she won the (3200-meter race) that it’s lonely at the top,” Stokes said. “As you continually beat people, people are going to talk bad about you. They’re going to wish bad things about you, and really it’s just blocking out the noise and continuing to compete. It’s a daily struggle.”
“The biggest thing is just reminding her that, ‘you’re Alivia Cleveland,’” Stokes added. “’You’re the best in the state, you’re one of the best in the country, and it really doesn’t matter what people say about you or how they feel about you. You’re just going to beat them every time you race them anyway. So enjoy your time at the top and continue to beat the people who talk bad about you.’”
Fort Mill hosted a track meet against Andrew Jackson, Indian Land and Rock Hill Wednesday night, where Cleveland participated in two events.
She was the anchor leg in Fort Mill’s 4x800 relay win with a team time of 10:10.28. She also won the 1,600 (5:10.42).
Fort Mill finished second at the meet with a combined score of 204.5, 34 points behind winner Rock Hill. Indian Land finished third with 68 points, and Andrew Jackson finished with 35 points.