Fort Mill’s Connor Demmerle is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Herald lists high-school athlete nominees and runs a public poll closing Sunday noon.
- Nominees span football, swimming and cross-country, backed by game and meet stats.
- Readers may vote unlimited times; poll requires typing yes to display and submit.
Fort Mill’s Connor Demmerle is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week.
The Yellow Jackets’ senior, who has committed to Furman, ran a time of 15 minutes, 57.20 seconds to win the Bob Jenkins’ York County Cross Country championships at Northwestern on Oct. 23. The Fort Mill boys’ cross-country team also won the same meet by 40 points.
Demmerle also ran a 16:24.79 to finish in fourth in the Region III 5A championships at Northwestern on Oct. 22. Fort Mill won the region title by 26 points.
Demmerle is a Furman University commit.
This week’s nominees
J’zavien Currence, South Pointe football: The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior quarterback went 8 for 11 passing for 153 yards and two touchdown passes, while also rushing for 104 yards and another score in a 42-0 win over Dreher on Oct. 24.
Currence, a University of South Carolina commit, has 1,567 yards passing and 12 touchdowns and has rushed for 785 yards and 10 more scores for a South Pointe team (8-1) that has won eight straight games.
Currence also has 34 tackles and three interceptions as a defensive back this season.
Karter Faris, York football: The 5-foot-7, 140-pound senior defensive back/wide receiver had five tackles and was not targeted all night in a 28-14 win over Richland Northeast on Oct. 24.
Faris also caught two passes for 59 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
Faris played special teams all night and graded out at 90 percent overall for York (3-6) in the same game.
Jackson Hill, Clover Football, Jr.: The 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior defensive lineman had eight tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks in a 21-17 win over Nation Ford on Oct. 24.
Clover is 5-4 overall this season.
Jamol Horton, Indian Land football: The 5-foot-10, 182-pound senior running back rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown, while also catching three passes for 20 yards in a 20-16 win at Fort Mill on Oct. 24.
Horton has 1,116 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns and has caught 15 passes for 153 yards for an Indian Land team that is still unbeaten at 9-0 this season.
Ella Nighbor, Clover girls’ cross-country: The Blue Eagles’ senior ran a then course-record 17:37.01 to win the Region III 5A championship at Northwestern on Oct. 22.
Nighbor broke her own course and personal records, running a time of 17:26.12 to win the Bob Jenkins’ York Country Cross Country title at Northwestern on Oct. 25.
The Clover girls’ cross-country team was runner-up in both meets.
Nighbor is a South Carolina commit.
Ryan Pierson, Catawba Ridge cross-country: The Copperheads’ junior ran a 16:10.90 to win the Region III, 5A conference title at Northwestern on Oct. 22.
Pierson’s run also helped Catawba Ridge to a runner-up finish at the same meet.
Abby Russell, Catawba Ridge girls’ tennis: The Copperheads’ freshman won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles to help Catawba Ridge to 4-3 win over Nation Ford on Oct. 20.
Russell also won 2-6, 7-5, 10-7 (tiebreaker) at No. 2 singles in a 5-1 win over Hillcrest in the first round of the 5A state playoffs on Oct. 23.
Russell is 13-0 in singles’ play for Catawba Ridge (8-5) this season.
Note: Information published today includes statistics through October 25.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Fort Mill’s Connor Demmerle is The Herald’s high school athlete of the week."