Fort Mill High cross-country runner Alivia Cleveland has been named the Gatorade South Carolina Player of the Year.
Cleveland is the second girls’ cross-country athlete to be named state player of the year by Gatorade from Fort Mill High School behind Meredith Kilburn in 2012. She is just the third female runner from Fort Mill Township, behind Nation Ford’s Katie Pou in 2020, to win the award.
The sophomore won her second 5A state individual cross-country championship this past November and helped to guide the Fort Mill girls’ team to a 5A state title in the process. She won the 5A state title with a time of 18:17.
Cleveland participated in 13 races this past season winning nine of them and finishing second in two others. She also won the Region 3-5A title and set a new course record in the Trojan Invitational race at Northwestern.
“Alivia is so deserving of the award,” said Fort Mill cross-country head coach Lee Whitaker. “She works hard on and off the field to be a great athlete and a great person. I’m proud of her and super excited for her to be honored by Gatorade.”
Cleveland and Fort Mill are preparing for the 2024 track season currently. She has a 4.56 GPA and is now in the running for the national player of the year in the sport which is scheduled to be announced later this month.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
