Greenville High's Knox Young named Gatorade S.C. Boys Cross Country Player of the Year

Greenville High cross country and track star Knox Young has been named the 2022-23 Gatorade South Carolina Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, after winning the SCHSL Class AAAA state individual and team championships in the fall.

"This one means a lot to me, because you don't win the 4A Gatorade player of the year, it's not a recognition for just your division. So, in that sense, it means a little more than a state title," said Young, who is a junior. "Remembering all those years of legitimately hard work and being recognized as the best in your state ... it was kind of unreal."

According to his coach, Young wasn't kidding about the work he puts in.

"Knox experimented with running in middle school and just said, 'Wow, I really like it.' Ever since he's been a student of sport. Out of all the kids I've coached, he probably studies running the most," said Greenville co-head coach Bob Collins.

864Huddle's All-Area Series

All-Greenville teams: Cross Country | Football | Girls Volleyball | Girls Tennis | Swimming

All-Spartanburg teams: Cross Country | Football | Girls Golf | Girls Volleyball | Girls Tennis | Swimming

All-Anderson teams: Cross Country | Football | Girls Golf | Girls Volleyball | Girls Tennis | Swimming

Young's season was one for the history books, winning all six races he entered, as well as finishing second in Nike's NXR Southeast Regional meet – where he set a personal best time of 15:05.7, the fifth-fastest time posted in South Carolina this year – following the high school season.

"He's the most competitive in-the-moment kid I've ever coached. He just doesn't like to lose, and if you look at his performances, sure, there's some people who may have run faster times at different meets, but no one has beaten Knox in South Carolina in almost two years," Collins said.

Young joins teammate Caroline Lyerly as a 2022-23 winner of this award – Lyerly was named Gatorade South Carolina Cross Country Girls Player of the Year earlier this month.

Despite personal success, Young is all about the team

Cross country tends to be an individual sport, but for Young, his focus has always been on the team.

"The goal was always to win the team title," he said. "My whole focus during the season was on how good can I help make the other runners on the team be? And so, I really wanted us to win some meets as a team, and not just me winning as an individual."

His mentality is best exemplified in last year's state track championships. Collins said Young was working with senior Alex Lear, who had lost some confidence and wasn't running well. In the 1,600-meter final, Young and Lear ran together, pulling away from the field.

"With about 100 meters to go, Knox looked at Alex and asked, 'Do you want it?' He was going to give Alex the win for state," Collins said. "Alex said no, so Knox won."

Collins cited a similar moment for a senior teammate that had never made the All-Region team.

"Those are the kinds of things that truly affect a team. Through his actions, his teammates know Knox has their back, and will give up on his own goals to help the team. You don't find that a lot in this sport," Collins said.

Never stop running

As Young looks forward, he's got some goals left for high school: A state record, win a couple more team titles, then "hopefully do something a little bigger than state records," he said.

He expects his mentality to not set limits to continue beyond high school, to keep climbing in the sport for as long as he can.

"I plan to run in college too, and with that, I don't have any cap on where I think I can end up. ... I know eventually running is going to end, but my goal is to make it last as long as I can," Young said.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Greenville's Knox Young: S.C. Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year