Best of the best! Catawba Ridge runner Sam Rich named SC Gatorade Player of the Year
Sam Rich will have to make some room in his trophy case.
The Catawba Ridge High School runner was named the 2021-22 Gatorade South Carolina Boys Cross Country Player of the Year on Monday. It’s not the first time the Fort Mill resident has earned this honor: Rich was also the 2020-21 S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-2, 145-pound senior won a 4A individual state championship in 2021 with a time of 15:20.85 — about 30 seconds faster than the 5,000-meter race’s next-fastest runner. That technically was his fourth state title: The Fort Mill resident, who relocated to York County from Georgia in the summer of 2020, also won a cross country championship and a pair of track and field state championships in 2020-21.
Rich also finished first at several regional races this year — including at the Great American Cross Country Festival and the Southern Showcase.
In November, Rich signed to continue competing in college at Notre Dame, historically one of the most prestigious running programs in the country.
“Ever since I talked to coach (Sean) Carlson at Notre Dame the first time, I knew it was special,” Rich told The Herald in November. “And so just seeing how well the guys have done this year and the class we have coming in, I’m really excited to get to be a part of that and build something really special.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner from each of the 50 states and Washington, DC. It awards one National Player of the Year in each sport — and Rich is now officially a finalist for in boys cross country.
The national honor will be announced in February.
Rich remains Catawba Ridge’s only and first state champion, but he’s been crucial in building the Copperheads’ running program. In only three cross country seasons since opening in 2019, Catawba Ridge has yet to lose a region championship, has made three state championship appearances and has always had an All-State runner.
And a lot of that has to do with Rich.
“Sam is a true student of the sport,” Catawba Ridge High School coach David Helms said in a statement. “He is constantly analyzing situations, courses, opponents and his own training to become the best athlete he can be. He’s a true talent but an even better human being.”
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 11:26 AM.
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