Maddie Drerup of Fort Mill softball is The Herald’s Athlete of the Week
Note: This will appear in the Sunday print edition of The Herald.
Maddie Drerup of the Fort Mill softball team has been voted The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.
Drerup had a remarkable string of clutch performances last week. Among those performances: She pitched a complete game and went 2-for-4 (with a home run) against Byrnes on May 16 to give the Yellow Jackets a chance at the Upper State title. And then in that Upper State championship contest, she threw another complete game — this time recording three strikeouts en route to beating Dorman, 10-5, on May 20.
And this week, she’s been great, too. On Wednesday, specifically, Drerup pitched a one-hitter and hit a clutch grand slam that gave the Yellow Jackets a lead they wouldn’t relinquish — and the win pushed the 5A state championship series to a winner-take-all finale on Friday.
And Fort Mill took all. The Yellow Jackets earned their program’s first state championship with a 4-2 win over Lexington in Blythewood on Friday. Drerup allowed only two runs on three hits from the mound.
“I’m just so proud of everyone,” Drerup said. “I really have no words. I’m on top of the world right now.”
There were 4,318 participants in this week’s poll. Drerup notched 54% of the vote; Jada Jones of Rock Hill notched 37% of the vote; and Benjamin Mills earned 7% of the vote.
Meet the rest of the candidates below.
This week’s finalists
Brian Adams, Indian Land track. The Warrior senior ran a personal-best 49.92 to finish as 4A state runner-up at the state championship meet at Spring Valley on May 21. Adams also finished 11th in the high jump (6-0) at the 4A state championships the same day. The Indian Land boys track team finished 25th.
Cam Baker, Fort Mill golf. The Yellow Jacket junior shot a two-day total of 148 (75-73) to finish tied for fourth-place at the 5A state championships at Charleston Municipal Golf Course on May 16-17. Baker’s effort also helped the Fort Mill boys golf team to a seventh-place state tournament finish.
Alivia Cleveland, Fort Mill track. The eighth-grader won the 5A state championship in the 3200-meter run in 11:03.65 at the Spring Valley High on May 20. Cleveland was also 5A state runner-up in the 1600-meter run in 5:04.59 the same night.
Maddie Drerup, Fort Mill softball.
Jeremiah Hicks, Lancaster track. The Bruin senior had a strong performance at the 4A state championship meet on May 21 — finishing third in the long jump (21-10.20), fourth in the triple jump (44-9.50) and 11th in the 4x100 meter relay (43.52). (That was Lancaster’s first 4x100 meter relay appearance at states in 17 years.) The Lancaster boys track team finished 18th at the state championship meet.
Andre Hodge, Catawba Ridge track. The Copperhead senior won the 4A state title in the 200-meter dash in a personal-best 21.20 at Spring Valley High on May 21. Hodge also won the 4A state championship in the 100-meter dash in 10.40 the same day. The Catawba Ridge boys track team finished third-place at the state championship meet.
Jada Jones, Rock Hill track. The Bearcat won the 400-meter dash in a personal-best 53.81 at the 5A state championships at Spring Valley High on May 20. Jones was also the runner-up in the 200-meter dash at states in 24.41. The Rock Hill girls track team finished eighth at the state championship meet.
Mason Kucia, Indian Land golf. The Warrior freshman repeated as 4A state individual champion, shooting a two-day total of 141 at Forest Lake Country Club in Columbia on May 16-17. Kucia shot a four-under par (68) on May 16, followed by a one-over par (73) on May 17. Indian Land finished third at the state championship event as a team.
Benjamin Mills, Nation Ford golf. The Falcon junior shot a two-day total of 154 (75-79) to finish tied for 10th at the 5A state championships at Charleston Municipal Golf Course on May 16-17. The Nation Ford boys golf team finished 13th overall in the same event.
Johntavis Ross, South Pointe track. The Stallion senior won the 4A state title in the 400-meter hurdles — running a 56.28 at the state championships at Spring Valley High on May 21. Ross also finished 12th-place in both the 200-meter dash (22.76) and the 110-meter hurdles (21.79) at the 4A 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 23, 2022 at 4:07 PM.
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