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, classroom, and school communities. The program is made possible by support from BSN Sports.

This week’s winners are from Lassiter and Pope. Raef Jollands is a freshman swimmer for the Trojans, and Josie Hutchinson is the 2024 state champion cross-country runner in 5A for the Lady Greyhounds.

Raef Jollands, Swim, Lassiter

Being a freshman and having brand-new teammates didn't deter Raef in the pool. He has already qualified for state in the 500 free (finished 1st) and the 100 Back (finished 2nd) at the Walton Amazing Grace Invitational. He also had the fastest leg on the 400 Freestyle relay and led off the 200 Freestyle relay (both relays finished 2nd). He did all of this AFTER swimming at his morning club swim meet. He is a hard-working student in the classroom with a challenging academic load. Raef is also on the Lassiter Mountain Biking Team and part of Lassiter’s STEM Engineering program.

"Raef came to Lassiter with a smile and a great attitude, ready to race and connect with his new high school teammates," said his coach, Brittany Hughes. "He has been a part of Swim and Dive for only a month but has participated in all team activities so far and has qualified for state in 4 different individual events. He has been swimming from a young age and swims year-round with his club team."

"He is very well-liked and respected by teammates, classmates and teachers. Raef is already proving to be a huge asset and will be a major part of the boy's team looking ahead to region, county, and state meets!" Coach Hughes concluded proudly.

Josie Hutchinson, Cross Country, Pope

Now in her junior year, Josie is turning up the level of her running success and collecting many awards along the way. She recently won the 5A Girls Cross Country meet at Carrollton with a blazing time of 19:15.40. She finished 9 seconds ahead of her closest competitor: fellow Pope teammate Aislynn Dunn. Her state championship pace led the way for the Lady Greyhounds, with all five scoring runners finishing in the top 13 of the race for an astoundingly low team score (lower is good in XC) of 29 (second place McIntosh scored 152!). She won the 5A Section champ and the Region champ, which helped her team win the Region 6-5A title. Josie also plays lacrosse and runs track.

"Josie leads by example, and others follow because she is such a GREAT person as well as an athlete," said her coach, Cathi Monk. "She has the 'IT' factor when it comes to athletics, and she is one of the nicest people at Pope High School. I wish her parents would write a book on how to bring up such great kids!"

"She is the epitome of a Pope Greyhound. Josie brings great positivity to our school and to our athletic teams. Her drive to achieve excellence is supreme. She is talented in the classroom and on the course/track/field, and her character makes her a leader in our community," agreed Pope Athletic Director Josh Mathews about his state-champion Athlete of the Week.

Congratulations, Raef and Josie! We can't wait to see what both of you have in store as you continue your high school academic and athletic careers. Great job supporting these outstanding student-athletes, Lassiter and Pope!