Nation Ford’s Katie Pou runs a race on the Anne Springs Close Greenway from this past cross-country season.

Two local runners have been named the best in the state.

Both Nation Ford’s Katie Pou and Catawba Ridge’s Sam Rich were named Gatorade’s S.C. Cross-Country Runners of the Year for both the male and female category.

The senior Pou will be heading off to University of Pennsylvania later this year to run both cross-country and track.  A four-time 5A state champion in the sport, Pou said being a Gatorade Runner of the Year was a goal of hers.

She knew what she had to do this year to be in the running for winning the award.

“I felt like I had a good chance,” Pou said. “It’s something I always wanted. It is just another accolade to show all the hard work that came together.”

Not only is Pou a multi-time state champion in cross-country, she is a former state champion in track as well in the mile. Her head coach for both track and cross county, Jake Brenner said he knew that Pou would be able to easily win the award if she dominated her senior year like she had her previous three years.

“It is hard to argue with her stats,” Brenner said. “She dominated all four years.”

Sam Rich is just a junior at Catawba Ridge and has been just as impressive in his first year at the school as any athlete. Arriving from Georgia, Rich burst onto the scene quickly and has been turning heads ever since.

Like Pou, Rich said winning the award was something he has set his sites on.

“Going into the season, I was thinking about it,” he said. “It was a goal coming in. I am really happy to get it.”

Rich won the 4A individual state cross-country championship this past season with a time of 15:08.

He has not only been dominating in cross-county since he moved to Fort Mill, but has also been accomplishing a lot on the track this season across the country. He recently set a personal best 14:40 in a 5K race in Texas as part of the Texas Distance Festival and he also won the adidas Indoor Nationals two-mile event in 8:58:15 in February.

Rich has his mind set on running in college, but still has time to make his decision on the number of offers he is getting. Rich, who won’t comment on what schools he is getting attention from, said he will probably make a decision about what college he will attend sometime this fall.

Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep

Catawba Ridge’s Sam Rich participates in the Trojan Invitational cross-country event from in 2020.