The Allstate Sugar Bowl has recognized the top male and female athletes (non-professional) from the Greater New Orleans area since 1978 – candidates must either play for a team that is based in the Greater New Orleans area or must be a native of the New Orleans area competing elsewhere. The honor is selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, which has been existence since 1957. All of the
Sugar Bowl annual awards were presented on a calendar-year basis until 2009 when the Committee changed to an academic calendar (July-June). The annual awards banquet is typically held in late July or early August.
Leah Varisco, a star in four sports at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Female Athlete from the New Orleans area for 2025-26.
Varisco may have had the busiest schedule of anybody in New Orleans – not just high school athletes. The Sacred Heart senior was a cross country and track standout in the fall and spring, and in the winter, she starred for BOTH the basketball and soccer teams. Amazingly, she was named the team MVP in all four sports in which she participated.
In basketball, she was the team’s starting point guard and averaged 13.5 points and six assists per game as she led her team to the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs where they reached the state semifinals. A two-time LSWA Class 3A all-state selection, she keyed the first-ever state title for Sacred Heart basketball in 2025 and is the only player in school history to score over 1,000 career points.
She also accounted for 45 percent of Sacred Heart soccer's points through goals scored or assists as it reached the Division III semifinals in 2026. She closed her soccer career by scoring her team’s only goal in a 2-1 semifinal loss to Parkview Baptist.
In cross country, she finished third at the LHSAA Division II state championship, posting a time of 19:08.9 over the three-mile course to lead Sacred Heart to a second-place team finish.
At the Class 3A LHSAA Outdoor Track Championships in May, Varisco earned third-place finishes in both the 1,600-meter run (5:25.63) and the 3,200-meter run (11:52.74) while helping her school collect third place in the 4x800 meter relay.
Outstanding Female Athlete, New Orleans
| 2025-26 |
Leah Varisco |
Sacred Heart Cross Country/Soccer/Basketball/Track |
| 2024-25 |
My-Anh Holmes |
Willow Tennis |
| 2023-24 |
Camryn Chatellier |
St. Mary's Dominican Volleyball |
| 2022-23 |
Alia Armstrong |
LSU Track & Field |
| 2021-22 |
Alia Armstrong |
LSU Track & Field |
| 2020-21 |
Kristen Nuss |
LSU Beach Volleyball |
| 2019-20 |
Angela Charles-Alfred |
Xavier University Tennis |
| 2018-19 |
Ellie Holzman |
Mount Carmel Volleyball |
| 2017-18 |
Aleia Hobbs |
LSU Track & Field |
| 2016-17 |
Aleia Hobbs |
LSU Track & Field |
| 2015-16 |
Kristen Nuss |
Mount Carmel Volleyball/Basketball |
| 2014-15 |
Katie Kampen |
Mount Carmel Volleyball |
| 2013-14 |
Kalani Brown |
Salmen Basketball |
| 2012-13 |
Katherine Broussard |
Country Day Volleyball |
| 2011-12 |
Christi Orgeron |
UL-Lafayette Softball |
| 2010-11 |
Maribel Lopez-Porras |
Tulane Golf |
| 2009-10 |
Trenese Smith |
Loyola University Basketball |
|
Olivia Grayson |
Archbishop Chapelle Basketball |
| 2008 |
Trenese Smith |
Loyola University Basketball |
| 2007 |
Trenese Smith |
Loyola University Basketball |
| 2006 |
Ashley Brignac |
John Curtis Softball |
| 2005 |
Not Awarded |
Hurricane Katrina |
| 2004 |
Jessica Barksdale |
John Curtis Softball |
| 2003 |
Temeka Johnson |
LSU Basketball |
| 2002 |
Julie Smekodub |
Tulane Tennis |
| 2001 |
Meg Henican |
Newman Volleyball/Soccer |
| 2000 |
Mindy Livaudais |
Ridgewood Prep Volleyball |
| 1999 |
Grace Daley |
Tulane Basketball |
| 1998 |
Kim Willoughby |
Assumption Academy Volleyball |
| 1997 |
Shondra Johnson |
St. Mary's Basketball |
| 1996 |
Barbara Farris |
Tulane Basketball |
| 1995 |
Shondra Johnson |
St. Mary's Basketball |
| 1994 |
Laura Blessey |
Mandeville Track & Field |
| 1993 |
Twalla Powell |
St. Mary's Academy Multi-Sport |
| 1992 |
Javonne Brooks |
UNO Volleyball |
| 1991 |
Ashley Tappin |
St. Martin's Swimming |
| 1990 |
NA |
|
| 1989 |
Ashley Cook |
Mandeville Track & Field |
| 1988 |
Ashley Cook |
Mandeville Track & Field |
| 1987 |
Mitzi Plaeger |
Ecole Classique Track & Field |
| 1986 |
Stacey Gaudet |
Tulane Basketball |
| 1985 |
Stacey Gaudet |
Tulane Basketball |
| 1984 |
Sandra Lucht |
UNO Basketball |
| 1983 |
Sandra Hodge |
UNO Basketball |
| 1982 |
Sandra Hodge |
UNO Basketball |
| 1981 |
Sandra Hodge |
UNO Basketball |
| 1980 |
Linda Wilson |
SUNO Track & Field |
| 1979 |
Sharon Nolan |
Horse Racing |
|
Linda Wilson |
SUNO Track & Field |
| 1978 |
Amy Montgomery |
Acrobatics |
| 1977 |
NA |
|
| 1976 |
NA |
|
| 1975 |
Pamela Jiles |
Dillard Track & Field |
