York’s Mason Branch is The Herald’s Fall Sports Athlete of the Week (Oct. 19)
Mason Branch of the York Comprehensive High School swim team is The Herald’s latest Fall Sports Athlete of the Week.
The junior swam personal bests in both the 100 and 200 freestyle as York’s only boys’ swimmer to compete in the South Carolina 4A state championships at the North Charleston Aquatic Center on Oct. 12. Branch swam a 53.46 to finish 14th at the state championships in the 100 freestyle, while also finishing 17th in the 200 freestyle with a 1:58.60.
The state meet punctuated Branch’s first season on the York swim team.
Branch earned 35% of the 13,819 total votes cast in this week’s poll. Ainsley Marion of Nation Ford volleyball finished second with 26% of the vote, and Alex Martin of Andrew Jackson cross country finished third with 19.6% of the vote.
View the full results and the accomplishments of this week’s finalists below. Voting opened Monday, Oct. 19.
Meet the Athlete of the Week finalists
Mason Branch, York swimming.
Alivia Cleveland, Fort Mill cross country: The seventh grader ran a 19:58 to finish third individually, while leading her Fort Mill team to a win at the York County Championships at Northwestern on Oct. 17. Cleveland’s 19:58 was a personal-best run.
Cesar Gavilan, Fort Mill swimming: The senior captain swam personal bests in the 50 and 100 freestyle to lead Fort Mill to a 5th-place team finish at the SC 5A state championships at the North Charleston Aquatic Center on Oct. 12. Gavilan swam a personal-record, 23.52, to finish 15th at the state meet in the 50 freestyle, while also swimming a career-best, 50.98, to finish 11th at the same meet in the 100 freestyle. Gavilan also helped Fort Mill’s 200 freestyle relay finish eighth and the 400 freestyle relay to finish fourth.
Ainsley Marion, Nation Ford volleyball: The junior libero/outside hitter had 59 digs and 28 kills to help Nation Ford go 5-0 this week. Marion had her best performance of the week with 10 kills and 18 digs in a 2-1 win over Dorman (at Hillcrest High) on Oct. 16. She also had seven kills and 12 digs in a 2-1 win against Hillcrest the same day. Marion has 121 kills, 181 digs and 24 aces this season for a Nation Ford team (19-2) that has won 12 straight matches.
Alex Martin, Andrew Jackson cross country: The senior ran 18:25.43 to win the race individually at Lugoff-Elgin by seven seconds on Oct. 14. Martin, a two-year letterman, also helped Andrew Jackson to a runner-up finish as a team in the event.
Katie Pou, Nation Ford cross country: The senior ran a season-best 19:17 to win the individual title by 35 seconds (over the field) at the York County Championships at Northwestern High on Oct. 17. Pou is the three-time defending South Carolina girls’ cross country state champion.
Buggy Reinke, Legion Colleigate golf: The Lancers’ senior shot a 68 to win the Ponderosa Invitational in Leesville-Batesburg on Oct. 13. Reinke won medalist honors in a two-hole playoff, where she birdied the second hole after landing an approach shot 12 inches from the hole. Reinke’s play also helped Legion Collegiate to finish fourth as a team in the same event.
Sam Rich, Catawba Ridge cross country: The junior ran a 15:32.10 to win the York County Championships’ boys 5K race by 37 seconds at Northwestern High on Oct. 17. Rich also ran a personal-best 14:55.41 — which is also the No. 1 time run in the state this season — to finish as runner-up at the Alexander/Asics’ Invitational in Fairburn, Ga., on Oct. 3.
Caden Taylor, Chester cross country: The Chester senior ran a 29:12 to finish 15th overall at the Chester County Championships on Great Falls’ course on Oct. 13. Taylor ran his season-best 25:37 at a Chester home meet last month.
Baylee Vaught, Indian Land volleyball: The Warriors’ senior setter/right side hitter was all over the court this week. She recorded 18 kills, 14 assists, six blocks, five digs and two aces in a 3-1 win over Carmel Christian on Oct. 15. Vaught has 157 kills, 158 assists, 76 digs, and 23 aces this season for an Indian Land (14-2) team that has won four straight matches.
Final results
If you can’t view the poll on a mobile device, click here.
How to nominate
Want to nominate an athlete? Fall Sports Athlete of the Week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes — both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players. If you want to suggest someonden e to be included in the “Athlete 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.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 1:45 PM.
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