Hobbs and Korndorffer earn June and July Amateur Athlete of the Month Honors

NEW ORLEANS – LSU track star Aleia Hobbs and swimming sensation Charles Korndorffer have been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month for June and July, respectively. Monthly award-winners are chosen in voting by the Greater New Orleans Sports Award Selection Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Hobbs, a nine-time All-American, captured the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 100-meter dash with a time 11.01 seconds in the midst of a heavy rainstorm and into a headwind – it was the fastest 100-meter dash into a headwind in collegiate history. In addition, she anchored the LSU 4×100 relay team that won the NCAA Championship in the event. To top things off, she won the USATF outdoor national title in the 100-meter dash to become the first woman since 1991 to win the NCAA title and U.S. national title in the 100-meter dash. It is the fourth time that Hobbs has been honored (July 2014, April 2017, May 2018 and June 2018) – the most since UNO basketball star Bo McCalebb (Feb. 2004, Feb. 2005, Dec. 2006 and Feb. 2007).

Korndorffer, representing the Nu Wave Swim Club, earned a national championship with his first-place finish in the men’s long course 50-meter butterfly at the National Club Swimming Association Summer Championships in Indianapolis on the final day of the month. The Jesuit High School senior-to-be’s winning time was 24.88 seconds — nearly a quarter-second faster than the runner-up. Korndorffer’s time of 25.13 was the fastest in the preliminaries. Earlier in July, Korndorffer was state champion in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.32. Korndorffer, who was the Most Outstanding Swimmer at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Metro Swimming Championships last fall, is collegeswimmer.com’s top-ranked Louisiana prospect for the 2018-19 academic year. He has committed to sign with the University of Notre Dame.

Hobbs earned the June honor over Tulane hurdler Jessica Duckett and local swimmer Cash Woolsey. Duckett earned All-America recognition with a time of 58.22 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and also was second among collegians in the 100-meter hurdles at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Woolsey broke a 2004 Louisiana age-group record for 14-year old boys by winning the 50-meter freestyle in a time of 25.11 seconds at the TNAQ Invitational in Knoxville. That was one of five individual victories to go with a pair of third-place finishes for the Mandeville product.

In addition to Korndorffer, July featured two track stars, a bowling standout, a baseball slugger and another swimming standout.

Donavan Rolland, competing for the Road Runners Track Club, earned All-America recognition with a fifth-place finish in the boys age 17-18 200-meter dash at the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Robert Vaughn, an 11-year old who attends Benjamin Franklin Math & Science Elementary School and competes for the New Orleans Metro Stars, placed fourth in the turbo-javelin and eighth in the discus at the AAU National Club Championships at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Florida on July 13. Brother Martin senior-to-be Cody Schaffer claimed the biggest individual title of his career on July 29 when the bowler rallied to win the boys classic division of the 53rd annual Louisiana Youth Match Games Tournament at All Star Lanes. Daniel Cabrera, a Freshman All-American for the LSU baseball team this spring, played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer and batted .300 (15-for-50) while pacing the team with 15 hits, two home runs and two stolen bases. Finally, 10-year old Ava Sims from the Crescent City Swim Club had a memorable trip to the Louisiana Long Course Swimming Championships as she captured six individual events and also keyed a pair of state records in relay events. Sims teamed with Anna Houin, Kendal Jollands and Haley Valdine to break two 40-year old relay state records in the girls 10-and-under division.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible. Each of the monthly award winners will be honored in the summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.