The Louise S. McGhee Track & Field team, which captured its first state title, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Girls’ Prep Team of the Year for 2022-23. The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Amateur Athletes of the Month and each year’s Hall of Fame class.
Not known as a power player in track and field, The Louise McGehee School won its first LHSAA Class 1A Outdoor Track & Field State championship. Junior Kali Magana won three individual races, setting personal records in the 100 and the 200, while also winning the 800 and anchoring the winning 4x200 relay team. Nadia Jones, who was part of the 4x200 team, added a memorable moment of her own when she came from 40-plus meters back on her anchor leg to help McGehee capture the 4x400 relay title as well. The Hawks also excelled in the indoor season, earning a fourth-place finish despite limited roster numbers.
“We knew what we had going into outdoor season,” head coach Rob Pearson said. “We’ve always had great work-ethic among the girls, but we’ve been adding a lot of talent too. We knew if we could get people to reach their potential that we had a shot [at the championship].”
Prior to 2023, McGehee’s track success had been primarily limited to a district title in 2016 and some individual success stories. And Pearson is confident things can continue.
“McGehee also won [a state title] in tennis; we’re showing we can become a destination for athletics.”
Joining McGehee as finalists for the New Orleans’ Girls’ Prep Team of the Year were Country Day Volleyball, Lutcher Powerlifting, and St. Scholastica Swimming. Country Day earned its seventh straight state volleyball championship as senior star Ellie Schneider finished with a season-high 28 kills in the championship victory over No. 2 seed Westminster Christian. Lutcher claimed its 16th straight state title by winning the Division II championship – the Bulldogs scored 68 points, more than twice the total of the runner-up Grant. St. Scholastica won the LHSAA Division II state championship as the Doves scored 409 points to finish well ahead of second-place St. Thomas More’s 263 points to earn their 12th state title in a row.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together 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 and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, 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 as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 67th year in 2023.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 102 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. 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 nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
