Kenley Henson of Great Falls softball is The Herald’s Athlete of the Week

Kenley Henson of the Great Falls softball team is The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.

The Red Devil sophomore pitched a complete game to lead Great Falls to a 13-3 win over Ware Shoals in the 1A state playoffs on May 9. Henson helped Great Falls to their first playoff wins — both against Ware Shoals in the district bracket — since 1986.

Great Falls (8-9) was eliminated by Ridge Spring Monetta on May 11. Henson finished the year with 50 strikeouts on the mound and 12 singles and eight RBI at the plate.

There were 8,822 participants in this week’s poll. Henson earned 52% of the vote, Jada Jones of Rock Hill track earned 32% of the vote and Mathieu Curtis of Fort Mill baseball earned 10% of the vote.

Meet the rest of this week’s Athlete of the Week candidates below.

Meet the candidates

Brian Adams, Indian Land track. The Warrior senior ran a 49.67 to win the 400-meter dash at the 4A Upper State championships at Eastside High on May 14. Adams also qualified for the 4A state championship meet in both the high jump and the 4x100-meter relay, with eighth-place finishes in both events.

Mathieu Curtis, Fort Mill baseball. The Yellow Jacket senior pitched a complete-game shutout — striking out 10 batters while allowing only five hits — as Fort Mill beat Boiling Springs, 7-0, on May 12 to earn a crucial playoff victory. Fort Mill also got a playoff win 4-3 over TL Hanna on May 14 and is now one win away on Wednesday from earning a bid to the 5A state championship series. Curtis is a USC Upstate commit.

Mason Haynes, Nation Ford track. The Falcon freshman ran a 9:34.80 to win the 3200-meter run at the 5A Upper State championships at Byrnes High on May 14. Haynes’ efforts helped the Nation Ford boys track team to a seventh-place finish overall.

Kenley Henson, Great Falls softball.

Jeremiah Hicks, Lancaster track. The Bruin senior won the 4A Upper State title in the long jump with a personal-record 23-4 at Eastside High on May 14. Hicks also qualified for the 4A state championship meet in the triple jump with a third-place finish at the 4A Upper State championships. The Lancaster boys track team finished 10th at the meet.

Andre Hodge, Catawba Ridge track. The Copperhead senior won the 200-meter dash in a personal-best time of 21.33 at the 4A Upper State meet at Eastside High on May 14. Hodge also finished as runner-up in the 100-meter dash at the same meet to help lead his Catawba Ridge boys track team to a runner-up finish.

Jada Jones, Rock Hill track. The Bearcat senior ran personal-best times to win the 200-meter dash (24.07) and 400-meter dash (54.19) at the 5A Upper State championships at Byrnes High on May 14. Jones, a Dartmouth College commit, also led the Rock Hill girls track team to a runner-up finish at the same meet.

Ashton Phillips, Andrew Jackson baseball. The Volunteer senior pitched a complete-game four-hitter with 11 strikeouts to lead Andrew Jackson to a 6-3 win over Philip Simmons on May 14. The win put AJ one win away from claiming the 2A Lower State crown and earning a bid to the 2A state championship series. Phillips also had a double and one RBI in the same game.

Johntavis Ross, South Pointe track. The Stallion ran a 56.69 to win the 400-meter hurdles at the 4A Upper State title meet at Eastside High on May 14. Ross also qualified for the 4A state championship meet in both the 110-meter hurdles (15.30, third-place) and the 200-meter dash (22.32, fourth-place). The South Pointe boys track team finished fourth overall at the 4A Upper State championships.

See full results here

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How to nominate

Athlete of the Week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes — both the accomplished and the underrated/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 16, 2022 at 4:32 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.