NEW ORLEANS (June 6, 2023) – Kali Magana, the star sprinter for the Louise S. McGehee School, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for May. Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. She is the first athlete on record from McGehee to win the monthly honor, which has been presented since 1957.
 
Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month
 
Magana led Louise McGehee to the school's first LHSAA Class 1A outdoor state track and field title by accounting for 32.5 of her team's 74 points. The junior won individual state titles in the 100 (12.15 seconds), 200 (24.59) and 800 (2:20:53). All of those times were personal bests as well as school records, district records and regional records. She also anchored the victorious 4x200 relay team.
 
"This wasn't about my times. It was about my team," Magana said. "We've never done anything in regionals, we've never done anything in state. This means so much for us."
 
In addition, Magana captured the Nike National Emerging Elite title in the 800-meter run while competing with the New Orleans Metro Stars at the Armory in New York on May 20. Considered one of the most versatile female athletes in the state, she also set a state record in the 400-meter dash at 56.8 seconds. She holds dual citizenship and is eligible to represent Belize in future Olympic Games. This summer, the senior-to-be will compete in Guatemala and Puerto Rico.
 
Magana was selected for the honor over a loaded field of sensational athletes.

• Seth Alexander made history by becoming XULA's first NAIA national champion in track and field when he won the triple jump May 26 at Marion, Ind. His winning jump was a school-record 15.39 meters/50 feet 6 inches – he was the only jumper at nationals to reach 50 feet. The NAIA national championship marked the second straight meet that Alexander broke the school record – he jumped 15.31 meters/50 feet, 2 3/4 inches April 28 in the Red River Athletic Conference Championships at San Antonio, Texas.
• Ayden Authement was the outstanding player of the Division III select baseball championship game as he led top-seeded St. Charles Catholic to its second straight state title on the diamond May 12, defeating Holy Savior Menard 9-1 in the final. Authement set the table from his leadoff spot in the order with three hits and three RBI in the title game, including a two-run single to put the Comets ahead to stay. In five games in May, he hit .438 (7-16) with a double, triple, five RBI and four runs scored. For the season, Authement hit .378 with eight doubles, two triples, 20 RBI and 23 stolen bases and was voted District 10-2A player of the year by league coaches.
• Claire Charpentier won the 200-meter dash and anchored for the winning 4x100 and 4x200 relays (each setting school records) while placing second in the long jump to key Newman's second place finish at the LHSAA Class 2A outdoor state track and field championships. Charpentier's events accounted for 38 of Newman's 82 points. The sophomore scratched on her first two attempts on the long jump, but then managed to advance to the finals on her third effort. From there, she excelled.
• Ra'hji Dennis finished second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes while keying a pair of Edna Karr relays that took first (4x200) and second (4x400) to spark the Cougars to a second-place finish at the LHSAA Class 5A outdoor state track and field championships.
• Justin Horne earned track MVP honors at the LHSAA Class 5A outdoor state track and field championships after winning two events and anchoring a pair of relays for John Curtis. The senior won the 110-meter hurdles for the second year in a row and also captured the 300-meter hurdle title by defeating last year's champ (Horne finished third as a junior). He also anchored relays that took third place (4x200) and fourth place (4x400).
• Brady Mullen, a junior-to-be at Jesuit, posted a time of 8:59 in the 3,200-meter run at the RunningLane championships in Huntsville, Ala., to become just the third Louisiana runner to break nine minutes in the 3,200. The other two Louisiana runners credited with posting a better time earned their marks more than 40 years ago. Mullen's time is the sixth-fastest among sophomores nationally this year and it gave him a ninth-place finish in the national meet.
• Logan O'Neill hit .429 (15-of-35) in a tremendous month of May for the Delgado baseball team, which matched the program record for victories with 47 while advancing to the JUCO College World Series for the first time since 2016 and picking up a pair of wins. O'Neill, a freshman from Chalmette and John Curtis Christian School, had four doubles while scoring six runs and driving in seven more runs. In Delgado's two JUCO College World Series victories, he hit 5-for-8 with three runs scored and four RBI. He also made a pair of appearances on the mound in May, striking out the only batter he faced with two runners on base to close the game and pick up the win on May 5 against Nunez in the Region XXIII Tournament and throwing three innings of two-hit balls to earn a save against Andrew College in the CWS.

 
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible.