Waldman named WHC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Polk County High School 2020 graduate Sydney Waldman has been named the Western Highlands Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Waldman received her award Friday from Polk County athletic director Rex Wells prior to the school’s Senior Drive event.

A junior marshal and one of the top students academically in this year’s graduating class, Waldman earned recognition this season as the WHC Player of the Year in volleyball, where she starred as a setter. As a junior she helped lead the Wolverines to the 1A state championship match.

Though her senior soccer season was cut short due to the global coronavirus pandemic, she was an all-conference, all-area and second-team all-Western North Carolina selection as a junior, when she started as a defender for the Wolverines.

In 2018 she earned a state championship at the 1A outdoor track and field championships as part of Polk County’s 4×400-meter relay team.

Waldman plans to attend the University of North Carolina.

It marks the third consecutive year that a Polk County student has won the award, with Reese Alley and Ryan Heider earning honors in 2019 and Kendall Hall receiving recognition in 2018.