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 65th year in 2021. 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.

Raven Nunnery, an elite sprinter who attended John Curtis Christian School,was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for June. Nunnery, who was named the Gatorade Louisiana Girls Track and Field Performer of the Year on July 3, had an outstanding month of June competing on the AAU circuit. On June 19, she won the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.16 seconds at the Southeast Louisiana AAU Regional at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. She also won both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Louisiana Governor’s Games held at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans on June 13. It was the fourth straight year that Nunnery won both marquee sprinting events at the Governor’s games, one of the top summer meets each year.

Overall, Nunnery has also not lost in 200-meter competition within the state of Louisiana for over two years. This past spring, Nunnery broke the 200-meter record in the AAU Regional with a 24.13 second time and broke her own district mark in the 100 meters at 11.84 seconds. She maintains a 3.51 GPA and not only excelled on the track, but was exceptional as both a volleyball and softball player at John Curtis. She has signed to run track at the University of Houston beginning this fall.

“Raven has blossomed into one of the best in the country,” said John Curtis coach Eric Smith. “She has a very high track and field IQ, and she understands the dynamics of the sport. She’s an excellent student-athlete who inspires her team and peers in all aspects of life.”

Nunnery earned the honor over one other track star and three American Legion baseball standouts.

• Jake Cabeceiras, who graduated from Archbishop Rummel in May, batted .400 with a .509 on-base percentage with 15 RBI and five extra base hits for the Gibbs Construction American Legion. On the mound, Cabeceiras was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA as Gibbs posted a 22-4 mark.
• Ismael Kone became the first UNO athlete to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 2017. One June 9, he posted a time of 10.50 in the 100-meter dash to finish seventh in his heat and 21^st overall as he earned All-America recognition. His Top-21 finish overall was the second-best performance at an outdoor national championship in school history. With the showing, Kone ranked himself as the tenth-best freshman in the country in the 100. The Texas product advanced to nationals after he ran a personal-best and school-record of 10.09 at the NCAA East Preliminary Round (May 28).
• Bradley Pelle, also a May graduate of Archbishop Rummel in May, was superb in Legion baseball action, batting .424 (14-for-33) with three doubles, one triple and a home run as well as 14 RBI and 29 runs scored. He had a .500 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage as the Gibbs Construction team posted a 22-4 mark.
• Ryan Porche, a senior-to-be at Jesuit High School, had an outstanding June for the Retif Oil American Legion team. In five starts, he posted a perfect 5-0 record with a 0.78 earned-run average. In 27 innings of work, he allowed just 12 hits while striking out 24 and walking just six. His final two starts of the month were both complete games as Retif Oil topped Gibbs Construction, 1-0, and Ponnstein’s, 2-1. The 6-3, 205-pounder had seven strikeouts in the win over Ponnstein’s and four in the shutout over Gibbs. He also teamed up with Holden Hess for a combined no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Ponnstein’s earlier in the month. Porche posted an 8-2 record for Jesuit this year – he tossed a complete game in LHSAA Division State Championship game, a 6-1 Blue Jay win over top-seeded Byrd.