Fort Mill’s Haruko Ono is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Athletes from football, tennis, swimming and volleyball earned weekly nominations
- Quarterbacks Freeman and Means led key wins with strong passing and rushing stats
- Swimmer Impens and runner Nighbor delivered multi-event wins and record-breaking times
Fort Mill swimmer Haruka Ono is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week.
The Yellow Jackets’ sophomore won all four events she competed in — the 100 butterfly, the 100 breaststroke, the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay in a five-team meet at Fort Mill Aquatic Center on Sept. 11.
Ono, who accounted for 84 points for her team, helped the Fort Mill girls’ swimming team to first-place finish, beating Andrew Jackson, Catawba Ridge, Indian Land and York at the same meet.
Last week’s other finalists
Keller Brown, South Pointe cross-country: The Stallions’ senior ran a 16-minute, 26.50-second 5k to win the Clover Classic Eagles’ Nest Invitational on Sept. 13.
Brown, who won by nearly 21 seconds, also led the South Pointe to a runner-up finish in the 17-team field.
Joseph Duey, Fort Mill football: The 6-foot-2, 203-pound senior linebacker had 14 tackles in a 38-7 win over Lancaster on Sept. 12.
Duey has 42 tackles and a sack for Fort Mill (4-0) this season.
Casey Fikis, Catawba Ridge football: The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back/linebacker had eight tackles and three interceptions, returning one of his picks for a touchdown in the Catawba Ridge’s 24-3 win at Spring Valley on Sept. 12.
Catawba Ridge is 3-1 this season.
Justin Haywood, Clover football: The 5-foot-6, 150-pound receiver/returner had five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown in Clover’s 47-0 win over York on Sept. 12.
Haywood also had 115 yards returning in the same game, including an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Clover is 3-1 overall this season.
Giau Pham, Rock Hill girls’ tennis: The Bearcats’ senior went 2-1 in singles’ play as Rock Hill won 4-2 at Northwestern on Sept. 10, but lost at Fort Mill (4-3, Sept. 9) and at Nation Ford (5-1, Sept. 11).
Pham is currently 8-1 in singles’ play this season, at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions for a Rock Hill team that is 7-2 overall.
Jane Rohrmeier, Catawba Ridge girls’ tennis: The Copperheads’ sophomore won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 singles to help Catawba Ridge to a 5-1 win over Indian Land on Sept. 11.
Rohrmeier is 3-0 in singles’ play for Catawba Ridge (2-1) this season.
Cadence Ruppe, Riverwalk Academy volleyball: The Lions’ senior outside hitter had 10 kills, seven digs, two aces and two assists in 3-0 loss to Chester on Sept. 8.
Ruppe also had four kills and an ace to help Riverwalk Academy to its first victory this season, a 3-1 win over Midlands’ STEM Charter on Sept. 10.
Ruppe has 29 kills, 24 digs and six aces for Riverwalk Academy this season.
Aidan Walker, Fort Mill boys’ volleyball: The Yellow Jackets’ senior middle hitter/setter had 19 kills, seven digs, seven blocks and 16 assists in a 3-2 loss to Rock Hill on Sept. 9.
Walker also had eight kills, nine digs, four blocks and nine assists in a 3-0 win over Northwestern on Sept. 11.
Walker has 54 kills, 31 assists, 38 digs and 18 blocks for Fort Mill (3-6) this season.
Note: Information published today includes statistics through September 13.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Fort Mill’s Haruko Ono is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week."