Student's Poster Wins Grand Prize in Subway Contest

Subway restaurant's Jared Fogle, the popular spokesman who lost 245 pounds in one year on a diet of Subway sandwiches, made a special visit to Sedgefield Intermediate on Wednesday, bringing a big prize for one fifth grader.

Natalia Cobena was the grand prize winner of Subway's "Fit Like a Panther" poster contest. The 11-year-old's poster showed a cartoon strip of young panthers learning about good choices when it comes to eating. Cobena said she worries about people getting sick and said the poster shows how adults help little ones learn about staying healthy.

Fogle said his weight gain started in the third and fourth grade, so it is very important to start getting the message to these young people early. "I want to get you guys on the right track now," he told the students, warning against too much television, video games and junk food.

Fogle presented Cobena with $1,000 in Subway gift cards and presented a $1,000 check to Sedgefield Intermediate principal Clarence Hawkins to be used for fitness supplies at the school.

Hawkins said the school's wellness committee will determine how to use the money. "We're fitness and wellness conscious," he said.

Faculty and students are already encouraged to exercise daily, with brief fitness videos in the mornings and a four-to-five-minute walk at the beginning of recess.