Loyola’s Myles Burns earns New Orleans Athlete of the Month honor

NEW ORLEANS – Myles Burns, a star forward for the national champion Loyola University men’s basketball team, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for March. Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Burns completed a sensational career in the month of March by leading Loyola to its first NAIA National Championship in 77 years. The senior forward earned the Chuck Taylor Award as the MVP of the NAIA National Tournament after tallying four double-doubles in six national tourney games. In the six tournament games, all in March, Burns averaged 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.2 steals per game. In the national championship game, he was dominant with 17 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. He also had a 24-point, 17-rebounds performance in a tournament victory over No. 15 Faulkner and a 33-point, 8-rebound, 10-steal effort in the Pack’s tournament-opening win over Benedictine. The Houston native, who led the NAIA in offensive rebounds (151) and steals (152), closed his career as the Wolf Pack’s all-time leader in steals with 358. He also ranks second in points and rebounds, seventh in assists and fourth in blocks at the school. He also earned the Marques Haynes Award due to his steal total leading all levels of college basketball (NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, etc.).

Burns earned the honor over a loaded field that included two other national champions, three Louisiana high school champions and a slugging baseball star.

Britney Dixon, a freshman for the Xavier University of Louisiana Competitive Cheer team, keyed her team’s run to the NAIA national team championship March 12 at Ypsilanti, Mich. It was the first NAIA national title for XULA. XULA scored a meet-record 93.70 out of a possible 100 points to win the championship over 14 other schools to finish the season a perfect 33-0 – the school’s first unbeaten season in any sport since men’s basketball was 29-0 in 1940-41. XULA head coach Glenn Caston said, “Britney was versatile and talented enough to be in every single section of our routine — standing tumbling, running tumbling, every elite sequence, every pyramid, every jump sequence. She maxed out at nationals and was our best athlete on the floor both days.”

Brayden Joubert, a graduate of Northshore High School, had a career month for the LSU baseball team. The 6-1, 215-pound slugger posted a .281 average (18-for-64) with six home runs, 14 runs scored, 24 runs batted in and 40 total bases for the month. In a 15-4 victory over ULM (3/29), Joubert slammed a pair of home runs and knocked in seven runs, a feat which had not been duplicated in five years at LSU. For the season (28 games), the left-handed batter is hitting .320 with an SEC-best 10 home runs, 29 runs scored, 38 RBI, seven doubles and 11 walks, with a .690 slugging percentage.

Spencer Lanosga, a member of the Jesuit wrestling team, won the sophomore division championship at the National High School Coaches Association Championships in Virginia Beach, Va., on March 26. After pinning his first two opponents, the top-seeded Lanosga defeated Kansas high school champion Sebastian Lopez in the 285-pound final. A two-time LHSAA Division I state finalist, he won the LHSAA state championship at 285 pounds in February.

Jacob Vangilder turned in a memorable performance to lead the Brother Martin bowling team to an undefeated season (17-0) and its fourth straight state championship. The Crusaders found themselves in a big hole in the third and final game of the championship match, but Vangilder came through with an incredible performance in a high-pressure situation. The sophomore, who rolled a team-best 694 series in the final match, was named the Outstanding Bowler (the MVP award for the tournament) after closing his final game with eight consecutive strikes to win his final match 248-247. “Vangilder was special today,” head coach Bruce Himbert said. “I told the team we had to strike out to win, and Jacob did just that.”

Solomon Washington earned the Most Outstanding Player honor at the LHSAA Class 4A state championship after leading George Washington Carver to the title with 12 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, six blocked shots and four steals (narrowly missing a triple-double). His dominance led the top-seeded Rams (29-2) to a 26-4 first-quarter advantage on route to a 66-31 victory over No. 3 McMain. The victory avenged a one-point loss to McMain in last year’s state title game. “This past year we came up short,” Washington said. “For us to come and play the way we played, it was amazing.” The 6-foot-7 Texas A&M signee stuffed the stat sheet in the semifinals as well, tallying 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals in an 84-35 wipeout of No. 4 Huntington. In a 71-42 March 4 quarterfinal blowout of No. 8 Landry, Washington collected 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks. He had opened the month with 18 points, including four dunks, in a 74-56 regional victory over No. 17 Salmen.

Jaylee Womack led the Ponchatoula girls’ basketball team to a thrilling LHSAA Class 5A state championship in March. Ponchatoula (35-2) entered the state playoffs as the No. 4 seed and posted a pair of March victories to wrap up the title. In the semifinals against top-seeded Walker, Womack had game-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Green Wave posted a 68-59 victory. She knocked down four free throws in the final 35.2 seconds to clinch the victory. In the state championship game against No. 2 Parkway (which had defeated the Green Wave by 25 during the regular season), Womack had a rare off night – until crunch time. With Ponchatoula trailing by three in the final seconds of regulation, Womack connected on the crucial game-tying three-pointer to force overtime. In the extra session, she nailed the game-winning shot with 16.1 seconds remaining in the 80-79 victory. Womack finished with a team-high 32 points as her school won its first state title since 2015.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards 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.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will feature top teams from the SEC and the Big 12, is scheduled to be played on December 31, 2022. 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 $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.