NEW ORLEANS (Aug. 5, 2026) – Dalton St. Pierre, a rising senior at Lutcher High School, has been selected as the July Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month, presented by LCMC Health. The Athlete of the Month has been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. To be eligible, an athlete must either be a native of the greater New Orleans area or compete for a team in the metropolitan region.
A catcher, St. Pierre led the Gibbs Construction Summer League squad to their third consecutive Grand Slam World Series 18U championship July 20-24 in Panama City, Fla. Over six games, he batted .600 (9-for-15) with three doubles, one home run and nine RBI.
After the Cardinals secured a berth in the championship bracket with a pair of pool-play victories, St. Pierre powered the offense in the opening bracket game, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI in a 6-5 victory over 5 Star West of LaGrange, Ga. When 5 Star West battled back through the loser's bracket to force a winner-take-all championship game, St. Pierre went 2-for-3 with two RBI to help lead the Cardinals to an 8-0 title-clinching victory.
St. Pierre was selected over four other outstanding area athletes for the July honor:
Jase Ford (Eastbank Little League Baseball)
Ford turned in an outstanding all-around performance to help lead Eastbank through regional tournament play. At the plate, he batted .353 with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored. On the mound, Ford struck out 17 batters while allowing just three earned runs.
Marisa Schubert (Eastbank Little League Softball)
Schubert starred for the Eastbank Little League 12-and-under team, which captured district and state championships before advancing to the Regional Championship game on ESPN. In six July games, the catcher batted .615 (8-for-13) with two home runs, two doubles, eight RBI, a 1.231 slugging percentage and a remarkable 1.864 OPS. Schubert delivered her best performances when her All-Star team needed them most.
Cooper Wakefield (Knights' Knation Baseball)
Wakefield enjoyed a tremendous July following an outstanding high school season and Summer Metro League campaign. A rising senior at St. Martin's, he starred for the Knights' Knation 17U travel team in the Jack Marucci Sports-sponsored league.
During 15 games in July, Wakefield batted .545 with a .773 slugging percentage and one home run. In 12 summer league contests, Wakefield hit .679 with a 1.050 slugging percentage. He also pitched 12 scoreless innings, posting a 0.00 ERA while striking out 13 batters.
Varenka Zhuk (New Orleans Metro Stars)
Zhuk, a standout runner for the New Orleans Metro Stars and a rising sophomore at Country Day, helped lead her 4x800-meter relay team to the USATF Junior Olympics national championship on July 28 in Norwalk, Calif. Teaming with Adele Abjmi, Zoe Threat and Gracelyn Haydel, the quartet posted a winning time of 10:14.24 in the 14-15 age division.
Earlier in July, Zhuk captured regional championships in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs at the USATF Region 6 Junior Olympics in Collierville, Tenn., posting times of 2:18.08 and 4:44.15, respectively. She closed her summer season Aug. 1-2 by finishing second nationally in the 1,500 meters (4:38.17) and third nationally in the 800 meters (2:13.69).
