Cobb Schools’ Athlete of the Week (AOW) program is a weekly recognition of male and female student-athletes performing at high levels in their sport, in the classroom, and in their school communities. The program is made possible by support from BSN Sports.

This week’s AOW winners are track and field athletes from Campbell and Osborne.

Sydney Nettles, Campbell, Track & Field

Ranked in the Top 25 in the nation and 3rd in the state, Sydney recently took first in three events at the Buffalo's River Ridge Invitational track meet. She won the triple jump, the 100m hurdles, and the 300m hurdles. She also set personal best records in the triple jump and 300m hurdles. She has been running track since the sixth grade and in addition to Campbell she competes with the Quicksilver Track Club. She has been nationally recognized at the Junior Olympics and is a two-time Coalition USA national champion. She is part of the International Baccalaureate program at Campbell and a high performing student with a GPA of 4.607!

"Sydney's accomplishments serve as an inspiration to both the girls and boys student-athletes," said her coach Kisha Barnes. "Her determination, motivation, and perseverance in reaching her goals and aspirations serves as a springboard for teammates and classmates to success. Her peers would consider her as someone who always helps, is extremely focused, and willing to assume a leadership role."

"In addition to track and field, she played softball for six years, participated in Campbell's fencing program for two years, was a member and then co-president of Campbell's Natural Hair Club for three years, and is a member of the National Honor Society and Campbell's Mau Alpha Theta Math Tutoring program. Besides track, her passions include hairstyling and food and nutrition. Sydney will attend a Division 1 institution in the fall on a track scholarship, and plans to major in Food and Nutrition Sciences or Astrophysics," said her proud coach.

Phil Laudat, Osborne, Track & Field

Last summer, Phil broke his femur while practicing hurdles. He had a long recovery through the fall, which prevented him from training like he would have liked. He vowed to come back better than ever, and so far has been doing just that. He recently broke his personal bests in the long jump (20'2"), the 400m (improving his time by 3.5 seconds!), and was part of a new school record in the 4x400 relay (3:26.11). Phil is also an exceptional student with a 3.75 GPA and serves on the Cardinal Athlete Leadership Council.

"Phil is kindhearted and treats everyone with respect," said his coach Latashia Ironside. "He is the one guy on the team that his teammates go to for advice and help. He is always a big help in getting things ready for a meet and helping out whenever I need him to show one of the younger athletes how to do something. He is a special young man."

"He carries himself with a high level of integrity in the hallways, in class, and on the track," agreed Cardinal Athletic Director Ron Boggs. "He leads by example and other students respond really well to his leadership and guidance. Phil is an outstanding young man that exemplifies what we are trying to do at Osborne: Develop gritty, humble leaders. So proud he’s a Cardinal!"