Indian Land’s Markieth Drakeford-Yegge is The Herald’s latest athlete of the week
Markieth Drakeford-Yegge of the Indian Land wrestling team is The Herald’s latest athlete of the week.
The senior finished off his high school wrestling career with a second individual state championship victory, beating Crescent High School’s Camerien Ellis in the finals to claim the 3A, 160-pound individual state crown at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Drakeford-Yegge did not give up a point in the state tournament, winning by pin fall in each match — and ended as one of five Warrior wrestlers to win a state individual championship.
Over 3,000 votes were cast in this week’s athlete of the week poll. Drakeford-Yegg, who collected 42 percent of the vote, just edged out Lancaster wrestling’s Immanuel Busch, who garnered 34.5 percent of the vote.
This was the last poll of the year that featured winter-only nominees. Next week, The Herald will be soliciting nominations from the area’s spring sports teams.
Find the finalists and the full results below.
Athlete of the Week finalists
Jamia Blake, South Pointe girls’ basketball: The 5-foot-8 senior was all over the court last week, averaging 16 points, 6.5 assists, six rebounds and three steals per game in two playoff wins over Ridge View and Westwood.
Blake had 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead the Stallions to a 57-44 win over Ridge View on Feb. 24.
Blake added nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals to help South Pointe to a 65-56 victory over Westwood at Bons Secour Wellness Center in Greenville, Feb. 28.
Blake is averaging 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and three steals per game for a South Pointe (27-2) team that will play in the 4A state championship game against North Augusta at Colonial Life Center in Columbia at 5:30 p.m. on Mar. 7.
Immanuel Bush, Lancaster wrestling: The Lancaster senior beat Eastside High School’s Chase Barnes in the finals to win the 4A, 285-pound state individual championship at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Bush was 30-3 overall this season.
Josh Cizmadia, Fort Mill wrestling: The Fort Mill senior beat Chapin’s Josh Green in the finals to win the 5A, 160-pound state individual title at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Cizmadia was also the 5A Upper State champion and Region 3-5A champion in his 160-pound weight class.
Markieth Drakeford-Yegge, Indian Land wrestling: The Indian Land senior finished off his high school wrestling career with a second individual state championship victory, beating Crescent High School’s Camerien Ellis in the finals to claim the 3A, 160-pound individual state crown at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Drakeford-Yegge did not give up a point in the state tournament, winning by pin fall in each match.
Drakeford-Yegge was one of five Indian Land wrestlers to win a state individual championship: Drew Endres (106), Dylan Layton (120), Grant Witherspoon (145) and Xavier Dreese (170) joined him.
Tyleik Elder, Andrew Jackson wrestling: The Andrew Jackson senior finished off a 28-1 season by beating High Point Academy’s Brendan Ross to win the 160-pound, 1A/2A state individual title at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29. It was his second straight state title.
Elder was the only 1A/2A state champion from The Herald’s coverage area.
Kaleem Heard, York wrestling: The York junior finished his season by winning the 126-pound, 4A state individual championship defeating Eastside High’s Aden Leonard at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29. It was his third title of the sort in a row.
Heard’s classmate and teammate, Jackson Rumfelt, also won the 120-pound, 4A state individual title.
Michael Ramirez, Rock Hill wrestling: The Rock Hill senior won his second 5A state individual title, beating Byrnes’ Daniel Kitts to earn the 152-pound championship at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Ramirez ended 57-3 this season.
Kelton Talford, Great Falls boys’ basketball: The 6-foot-7 senior forward averaged 18 points per contest in two playoff victories over Estill and High Point Academy to help Great Falls advance to the 1A state championship game against Scott’s Branch at the Colonial Life Center in Columbia at noon on Mar. 7.
Talford had 24 points to lead the Red Devils to an 86-66 victory over High Point Academy in the 1A Upper State championship game at Bons Secour Wellness Center in Greenville on Feb. 28.
Talford, a Winthrop University signee, also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 74-38 win over Estill on Feb. 25.
Aylesha Wade, Clover girls’ basketball: The 5-foot-8 junior averaged 26.5 points per game in two playoffs wins to help Clover advance to the 5A state championship game against Goose Creek at 7 p.m. on Mar. 6.
Wade had 28 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 63-55 win over Byrnes on Feb. 24.
Wade followed that up with 25 points in a 67-47 win over Irmo in the 5A Upper State championship at Bons Secour Wellness Center in Greenville on Feb. 29.
Wade is averaging 21 points, four rebounds and three assists for Clover (28-2) this season.
Bailey Wilkins, Rock Hill wrestling: The Rock Hill senior finished his Bearcats’ wrestling career with a state-record 262 wins, earning the record-breaking win in the 5A state individual semifinals.
Wilkins was the 132-pound, 5A state runner-up to Byrnes’ David Hunsberger at Anderson Civic Center on Feb. 29.
Wilkins had won individual state championships in each of his first three seasons.
How to nominate
Want to nominate an athlete? Athlete of the week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes in all sports — both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players.
If you want to suggest someone to be included in the “Athletes of the Week” voting, send an email to Jay Edwards at edwardswork23@gmail.com. Please include the athlete’s name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.
Full results
If you can’t view the results on mobile, click here.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 6:49 PM.
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