Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James 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. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the 1971 creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, 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 amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 62nd year in 2018. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region. Each of the monthly award winners are honored in the summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Photo by David Folse for The Advocate

Alex Davis, a national champion power lifter from Holy Cross, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for March. Davis had a busy and productive month in the underappreciated sport of power lifting, capturing state and national honors. On March 16th at the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA state championship event (Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria, La.), the senior captured the 181-pound class with a total lift of 1,480 pounds. That included 310 pounds on the bench press, 585 pounds in the squat and a 585-pound dead lift. He far outdistanced all competitors, dominating the event. On March 30th in the National meet (once again at Rapides Coliseum) while competing in the 182-pound class, he totaled 1,444 pounds in the three lifts, 314.1 pounds in the bench press, 540.1 pounds in the squat and 589.7 pounds in the dead lift (or pull). He captured the No. 1 ranking nationally in the 182-pound category. Davis has qualified and is expected to be invited to the Junior World Championship in Tokyo in May.

Davis was selected over five other standout athletes. Caleb Daniels, a sophomore guard for the Tulane men’s basketball team, averaged 23.2 points per game in four games, including a career-best 36 points against Wichita State. Kaleb Jenkins from Country Day was named the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Division IV state championship game MVP as the Cajuns shocked top-seed Dunham 56-48 on March 9 in Lake Charles. Mason Mayfield, a sophomore pitcher for the Delgado baseball team, threw 21.2 innings over four appearances for the Dolphins, who posted an 11-2 mark in March. Shelby Wickersham, a graduate of Mount Carmel, had an outstanding March for the nationally-ranked LSU softball team, recording a 5-0 mark on the mound while adding one save. Finally, Stacey Ann Williams, a freshman from Jamaica, keyed SUNO’s second-place finish at the NAIA national indoor track championship by winning the 400-meter dash in a time of 53.63 seconds and anchoring SUNO’s national-title winning 4×400-meter relay team.