Yes, the 2022-23 high school sports seasons are over. But the awards season for Baton Rouge area athletes is not.
The Advocate’s 37th Star of Stars High School Sports Awards is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the L’Auberge Event Center. Covering multiple sports and championships is the best part of my job. Each year the Star of Stars event brings it all together.
An event that plays out like the ESPYs takes most of us, including myself, out of our respective comfort zones. And that is OK.
Gymnasiums, playing fields golf courses, tennis courts and bowling lanes are the “natural habitats” for most of us.
Yet each year the site that unfolds in front of me never disappoints. Top athletes, coaches and teams who would never come together under normal circumstances are there together to celebrate success and excellence.
For a two-hour period their stories come together as one.
Having Seimone Augustus as our special guest speaker adds to the presentation this year. She was a four-time Star of Stars and the 2002 Girls Athlete of the Year.
Talk about living a dream … Seimone has done that. And then some. Her insight into sports and life is a notable part of this full circle moment for the Star of Stars event.
There will be intrigue and emotion too.
Who will take home the top feature awards — Coach of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year? Check out starofstars.net to see the full list of finalists. You won’t be disappointed.
The Courage and Spirit awards will be emotional. The wayWoodlawn volleyball coach Maria Gonzalez has battled ovarian cancer is inspiring and defines courage in a special way.
Sadly, Jimmy Williams did not win his cancer battle. Yet his infectious smile, the life he lived and the love he had for his alma mater, Episcopal, enrich the legacy of the Spirit award.
Some traditions are timeless. I believe the Star of Stars event belongs in that category. This year and every year.
Prep notables
Doyle’s Peyton Woods and Dallis Moran of St. Amant were among the standouts for the East squad in an LHSCA all-star baseball sweep this weekend in Pineville.
Woods won the pre-game Home Run Derby and Moran was the East MVP in a 12-11 East win Friday night. Moran struck out two and allowed one hit in two innings. He also had a hit and two RBI. The East won 10-2 on Saturday.
• The East also swept the softball all-star games by scores of 5-4 and 16-7 last weekend in Tioga. St. Amant pitcher AJ Jackson was one of the MVPs.
Jackson was 2 of 3 with a home run in the first game and 3 of 5 overall. She struck out six in five innings and allowed no runs.
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