Six from Fort Mill fan out at collegiate level

Six Fort Mill High athletes signed Thursday to play sports at the next level.

Four lacrosse and two volleyball players all signed with different colleges during a ceremony Thursday morning at the school.

Volleyball players Tessa Grubbs and Payton Carter, both 17, signed to play at the University of Tennessee and Liberty University, respectively.

“I loved the Christian atmosphere,” Carter said. “Every time I go there I fall in love with it.”

Carter has played four years on varsity and was a two-time team MVP. She was All-Region in 2014 and 2015 and was named as an Under Armor All-American. She has 367 kills, 168 digs and 52 aces in 96 sets played while at Fort Mill.

Grubbs, who was also named as an Under Armor All-American, had her choices of schools, but said “the atmosphere was great” in Knoxville.

She is a candidate for the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state and will also be representing the school in the North-South All-Star game. She has recorded 476 kills, 143 digs and 35 aces in 82 sets played in her three years on varsity.

The other four signees were lacrosse players. Karlee Stinson, 17, signed to play at Tusculum College, also in Tennessee.

“I really wanted a small atmosphere,” she said.

Stinson was captain her junior year and was named to the second team All-State last year. She was also named team MVP and led the team most statistical categories.

The three boys’ lacrosse players included Matt Russell, Ben Davidson and Zeth Sutton.

Russell, 18, is a four-year varsity player for Fort Mill and will be attending West Point and playing for Army.

“I wanted to play at a Division I program and serve my country,” he said.

Russell was a member of the 2014 state championship team and a former All-State selection. In his three seasons at Fort Mill, Russell has played in 38 games. He has won 76 face offs and gathered up 123 ground balls, while collecting 34 takeaways during that time.

Davidson, 17, will be going to the University of Tampa.

“Tampa was the place my heart was set for,” he said.

Davidson is also a four-year varsity player for Fort Mill. He has been named a former All-American and state Defensive Player of the Year. He was also on the 2014 state championship team and named to the All-State team as well. Davidson has played in 45 games and garnered 61 takeaways and 113 ground balls during his time at the school.

Sutton, 17, is the third member of the Fort Mill boys’ lacrosse team to sign Thursday. He will be going to play lacrosse at North Greenville University.

“I really fell in love with the team,” Sutton said. “And I love the Christian environment there.”

He is a two-year varsity player and started in the 2014 state championship game. While only playing lacrosse for the past five year, he has had a pretty significant impact on the Fort Mill team.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Six from Fort Mill fan out at collegiate level."