NEW ORLEANS (June 23, 2025) – Noah Confident, a top-four state finisher in wrestling, and Brian Marelo, a 15-year old competitor in the Crescent City Classic road race, have been selected to receive Jimmy Collins Awards from the Allstate Sugar Bowl's New Orleans Sports Awards Committee.
 
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee has selected annual award winners in a variety of categories since 1958; it also selects Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month and each year's New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame class. Overall, 30 individuals and two teams will be honored for their achievements at the 2024-25 Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Banquet presented by LCMC Health on August 2. Honorees are currently being announced, wrapping up with the Corbett Awards for the top male and female amateur athletes in the state on July 8 and 9.

While there are many different categories of awards presented by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, some years the Committee finds that there are people deserving of recognition who do not necessarily fit into one specific category. For that reason, the Committee presents the Jimmy Collins Awards to outstanding individuals and organizations.
 
Collins was a longtime New Orleans sportswriter who is credited with creating the New Orleans Sports Awards and forming the Sports Awards Committee in 1958.
 
Noah Confident, who was born with one leg, has established himself as a high-level athlete. The 17-year-old achieved a pair of top-four finishes in Division I Wrestling at the LHSAA Championships (2024 and 2025).
 
"My way of wrestling is different from other people because it's less of a hand fight and it's more shots and just slowing down my opponent to be at my pace," he said. "Overall, it's just wrestling and doing the stuff I know how to do. I'm already low, so I don't have to get low to get their legs. I just snatch and pull and try to get them down to the mat."
 
"Starting out, I wasn't even worried about winning or losing. I just wanted to wrestle. Then going into the next year, I just wanted to get better and learn more technique and everything. I wasn't really thinking about tournaments. I just wanted to get better at wrestling. Then in my junior year I really thought about going to state and having that goal set in mind. Even though I didn't (win at the state championship), I'm still proud of myself for getting there.
 
Brian Marelo competed against 18,200 fellow racers in the 47th Crescent City Classic on April 19. The 15-year-old entered the race with a goal of 55 minutes and he finished the race in 45 minutes and 52 seconds, faster than 96% of the finishers. Unlike most of the racers, Marelo competed in a lightweight chair with cantilevered wheels – he has spina bifida; he was born with his spinal cord growing out of his back and doctors said he would likely never be able to get out of bed, let alone walk. He has dealt with many challenges that came with his diagnosis, including epilepsy and hydrocephalus requiring a shunt and has undergone 20 operations in his 15 years.
 
"I wasn't supposed to be able to do all these things I currently do," said Marelo. "You're only going to hurt yourself if you believe you can't. But if you try, you might find out that you can."
 
He hopes to attend the University of Alabama, which has a renowned adaptive sports program, and he also has 2032 Paralympic ambitions.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl will continue announcing its annual awards tomorrow (Tuesday) with the Outstanding Boys and Girls Prep Coaches of the Year from New Orleans.
 
Jimmy Collins Awards: Noah Confident, Brother Martin Wrestling; Brian Marelo, Hahnville
Outstanding Boys' Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Hank Tierney, Archbishop Shaw Football
Outstanding Girls' Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Courtney Ward, Sacred Heart Basketball
Outstanding Female Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: My-Anh Holmes, Willow Tennis
Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Kade Anderson, LSU Baseball
Outstanding Boys' Prep Team, New Orleans: Edna Karr Football
Outstanding Girls' Prep Team, New Orleans: Slidell Volleyball
Outstanding Collegiate Coach, Louisiana: Brad Neffendorf, LSU Shreveport Baseball
Eddie Robinson Award – Burzis Kanga, UNO Tennis
Corbett Award – Male: Kade Anderson, LSU Baseball
Corbett Award – Female: Aneesah Morrow, LSU Basketball
Women in Sport Scholarships: July 28 (Monday)
 
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025:
Shan Foster, Basketball, Bonnabel HS/Vanderbilt/NBA, 2001-13
Temeka Johnson, Basketball, Bonnabel HS/LSU/WNBA, 1997-2018
Joe McKnight, Football, John Curtis Christian School/USC/NFL, 2004-16
Andy Russo, Basketball, Fortier HS/USL/Brother Martin HS, 1956-78

The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together when Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 69th year in 2025.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.