NEW ORLEANS (February 4, 2026) – Stella Zippert, the record-setting goal-scorer for St. Mary's Dominican, has been selected as January's Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month presented by LCMC Health. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region to be eligible.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Zippert, who holds the Dominican school record for career goals with 127, tied the school record for single-season goals with her 42nd of the year in January (she set the record as a freshman). The record-tying goal was the second of two she scored in a Jan. 19 win over Baton Rouge. The junior also had two goals in a 2-1 win over Newman (1/6) and in a 5-0 win over Country Day as she finished January with six goals in six matches. Zippert set the single-season record on Monday with her 43rd goal of the year in a victory over John Ehret. She has paired with senior striker Evelyn Ieyoub, whose 24 assists are also a school record for a season, to lead Dominican to an 19-0-5 record.
 
"When she's on her own with the ball, she can dribble through the whole team," Ieyoub said. "She can go straight to the goal — definitely a superpower to have."
 
Zippert has also starred on the Dominican track and field team. She placed second in the high jump at the Class 5A state meet last spring, ran on a state-qualifying 4x200-meter relay team and was a district runner-up in the 100- and 200-meter sprint events.
 
The soccer star was selected for the Sugar Bowl honor over six basketball stars – four from the local high school ranks and two collegiate standouts.

• Reece Arguelles, a senior point guard, averaged 17.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.8 steals in 10 games for the Pope John Paul II boys basketball team in January. His 171 points in the 10 January games was 37 percent of the Jaguars' total for the month. Arguelles' top performance was a 33-point eruption (on just 19 shots) in a 63-52 victory over Franklinton (1/27). He also had a pair of 28-point efforts against Franklinton (1/27) and against Covenant Christian (1/8) and went over 20 points on two other occasions: 25 in a win over St. Martin's Episcopal (1/9) and 24 against French Settlement (1/23). For the season, he's averaging 19.1 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.8 steals per game.
• Alanna Benoit continues to be a scoring machine for the Mandeville girls basketball team – in 11 January games, she averaged 25.4 points as the Skippers posted a 9-2 record. She also averaged 9.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.6 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game during the month. The 5-9 guard had nine 20-point efforts as well as six double-doubles during the month. In a victory over Northshore on Jan. 6, she scored 23 points, including the 2,000th point of her career – the first Skipper to eclipse that milestone. She closed the month with back-to-back 36-point performances: 36 points with eight boards in a 60-56 home victory over De La Salle (1/28) and 36 points, five rebounds, and five steals in a 58-44 win over St. Amant. For the season, the McNeese State signee is averaging 24.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 4.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
• Leonard Jackson is a 6-3 senior guard/forward who was not a starter for the Loyola men's basketball team until January. He has exceeded double figures in 14 consecutive games for the Wolf Pack. During 10 games in the month of January, he averaged 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, while connecting on 31-of-34 free throws. He posted four 20-point games in January, including a 24-point effort in a win over Life (1/31) and a 23-point outing in a win over SUNO (1/5). He also scored 22 against Thomas (1/17) and 21 against Brewton-Parker (1/24). Jackson is from Waggaman, La., and attended De La Salle High School. Loyola was 7-3 during the month and is 17-5 overall, including 9-3 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
• A senior forward, Kirsten Johnson averaged 19.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.9 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in the month of January as the Riverdale girls basketball team went 6-0. Johnson is the primary force in what has been a historic season for the Rebels, who are 17-0, far and away the best start in program history. Riverdale closed the month No. 3 in the Select Division I power rankings. Johnson is coached by Kiera Burke.
• Aaron Miles Jr. is the leading scorer for the St. Augustine boys basketball team, which has posted a 23-2 record. The junior point guard is averaging 14.7 points, six assists, and four steals per game this season, including a 31-point outburst in a 69-49 win over Rummel on Jan. 30. He also notched a 20-point effort in a 54-42 win over Jesuit to begin district play on Jan. 24. The 5-9 Miles became the Purple Knights' starting point guard last season as a sophomore and was the leading scorer for a state championship-winning team. He also received all-state, all-metro and all-district honors. "He loves basketball," St. Augustine coach Wade Mason said.
• Solomon Washington has played in 109 college basketball contests with 59 starts. The first three seasons on the court were spent at Texas A&M. He transferred to Maryland this season and is enjoying his best campaign. The senior forward is averaging 9.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game for the Terrapins. The 6-7, 220-pounder from George Washington Carver High School played in 10 games in the month of January, averaging 10.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He posted a pair of double-doubles, including 17 points and 12 boards against Oregon (1/2) and 13 points and 10 rebounds against Illinois (1/21).

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which served as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, saw Ole Miss defeat SEC rival Georgia in a sold-out Superdome 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.