The Warren Easton High School girls track & field team, which won the Class 4A outdoor state championship, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Girls Prep Team for 2023-24. The 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.
Warren Easton became the first New Orleans public school in 25 years to win a Louisiana state track and field championship when they captured the Class 4A championship in early May. The Eagles, who competed with just eight qualifiers at the state meet, finished with 72 points, ahead of second place Teurlings Catholic’s 56 points. Freshman Khai Brown was runner-up in the two hurdle events and senior Takeila Williams placed third in the 100 and 200. Two more freshmen, Dai’Jah Robertson and Rylie Lawrence were strong as well, giving Warren Easton a very bright future on the track.
“I knew we had a talented group of athletes that was also very hard working and had strong dedication to track and field,” said Eric Smith, the Warren Easton head coach. “So we knew we had a shot [at winning the state championship]. I was very impressed with the seniors and how much work they put in to learn the sport and to improve.”
Williams also anchored Warren Easton’s win in the 4x100 relay while both Brown and Williams were part of the winning 4x200 relay team. Brown led off the 4x400 relay team which notched a runner-up finish.
“We picked up some key people for next year,” Smith added. “We’re moving up to 5A, but I think we should make a great push. I think we’re well-prepared and I hope we can make a run at the 5A championship.
Joining Warren Easton as finalists for the Outstanding Girls Prep Team of the Year were Archbishop Chapelle Softball, Dominican Volleyball, and St. Scholastica Soccer. Fifth-seeded Chapelle won its first softball state championship with an impressive run through the LHSAA Division I Select state tournament bracket, including wins over No. 12 Woodlawn, No. 4 Mt. Carmel, No. 1 St. Thomas More, and No. 2 John Curtis. Top-seeded Dominican, which finished the year with a 43-2 record, posted its fourth consecutive Division I state volleyball championship by defeating No. 2 Mount Carmel in four sets. St. Scholastica scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving the fourth-seeded Doves enough to defeat No. 11 C.E. Byrd, 2-1, to collect their eighth soccer state championship and their first since winning back-to-back crowns in 2018-19.
The 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 68th year in 2024.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. 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 over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
