Indian Land’s Mason Kucia is The Herald’s latest Player of the Week (May 24)
Mason Kucia of the Indian Land boys’ golf team is The Herald’s latest spring sports Player of the Week.
The Warriors’ eighth-grader shot a two-day total of 141 to win the 4A state individual championship at Dolphin Head Golf Club in Hilton Head on May 17-18. Kucia had five birdies in his second-round, 69-shot effort on May 18. He’s the first golfer from an ILHS team to win an individual state title since 2008, The Herald previously reported — and he’s the only one to do so at all since Indian Land has grown and seen its SCHSL classification jump from 1A to 4A.
There were 22,105 votes cast in this week’s poll. Kucia earned 42.5% of the vote; Maddie Drerup of Fort Mill softball earned 36.7% of the vote; and Morgan Langley of Legion Collegiate softball earned 11.4% of the vote.
Read about the selected finalists and see full results below.
(Information published below includes statistics through May 22. Voting opened on Monday, May 24.)
Meet the finalists
Trey Crenshaw, Lancaster golf: Crenshaw shot a two-day total of 148 (70-78) to finish fourth at the 4A state championships at Dolphin Head Golf Club in Hilton Head on May 17 and 18. Crenshaw, a Coastal Carolina University signee, was also the Region 3-4A champion earlier this month.
Maddie Drerup, Fort Mill softball: The Yellow Jackets’ junior pitcher earned three wins on the mound with 23 strikeouts in 20 innings of work last week — and those three playoff victories helped boost her team to a spot in this week’s 4A Upper State championship series with Byrnes. Drerup’s most important performance last week? On May 21, she went all eight innings and allowed just four hits in a 4-2 win over Dorman.
Channing Ferguson, Northwestern track: The Trojans’ senior had a 5A state championship meet to remember on May 22: He finished as the runner up in both the high jump (6-8) and long jump (22-10.5) at Spring Valley High on May 22. He also finished third in the 110-meter hurdles at the state meet in a personal-best — 14.55 — and finished fourth in the triple jump (45-05). Ferguson’s efforts helped lead the Northwestern boys’ track team to a state runner-up finish.
Mason Kucia, Indian Land golf.
Morgan Langley, Legion Collegiate softball: The Lancer hit .500 with four RBI and five stolen bases as Legion Collegiate won four playoff games last week — including victories over Landrum (9-0, May 17); Gray Collegiate (7-2, May 19); Ninety-Six (10-3, May 21) and Ninety-Six again (4-0, May 21). Legion Collegiate is now in the Upper State championship series against Chesnee.
Sam Rich, Catawba Ridge track: The Catawba Ridge junior won the 4A state title in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at Spring Valley High on May 21. Rich won the 1,600-meter state title by nearly 13 seconds, while taking the 3,200-meter run crown by 14 seconds. The Catawba Ridge track team finished fourth in the 4A state championships.
Katie Pou, Nation Ford track: The Falcons’ senior ran an 11:24.21 to win the 5A state championship in the 3,200-meter run at Spring Valley High on May 22. Pou also ran a 5:05 to finish as state runner-up in the 1,600-meter run and helped the 4x800-meter relay team to a fifth-place finish. Pou, a University of Pennsylvania commit, helped lead the Nation Ford girls’ track team to an 5A state runner-up finish.
Sydney Rollins, Lewisville softball: The Lions’ eighth-grader went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI in a 13-3 playoff win over Ware Shoals on May 17. Two days later, Rollins was again 3-for-3 with two runs scored in an 8-7 playoff win over Wagener-Salley. Rollins hit .293 with 17 runs scored, 13 RBI and 15 stolen bases for the 2021 Lewisville team — which ended its season in a playoff loss to Dixie last week.
Johntavis Ross, South Pointe track: The Stallions’ junior won the 4A state title in the 400-meter hurdles, running a personal-best 55.97 at Spring Valley on May 21. The South Pointe boys’ track team finished 18th in the 4A state championships last week.
Devyn Sutton, Legion Collegiate golf: The Lancer shot a two-day total of 153 (74-79) to finish ninth and to earn All-State honors at the 2A state championship at the Country Club of Newberry on May 17-18. Sutton had five birdies and an eagle in his two rounds. Sutton was also the Region 4-2A champion earlier this month.
Grant Witherspoon, Indian Land track: The Warriors’ senior set a personal-best last week at the 4A state track and field championships, running a 15.53 to finish third in the 110-meter hurdles at Spring Valley High on May 21. Witherspoon also set a personal- and school-record with a 56.76 to finish fourth in the 400-meter hurdles the same day.
Camryn Lorick, Nation Ford track: Lorick, who’s headed to Coastal Carolina to compete in track in the fall, won a state title in the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches at the 5A track and field state championships on May 22 at Spring Valley High School. She also finished third in the 100-meter dash (11.99) and third in the 200-meter dash (24.7). The Nation Ford girls’ team finished second in the 5A field overall.
See full results
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How to nominate
Player 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 someone to be included in the ballot in future weeks, 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. The Herald reserves the right to remove a name from the poll at its discretion.
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 11:21 PM.
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