Palm Beach County Hall of Fame hands out annual awards for 2023, inducts 46th class
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WEST PALM BEACH The Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame welcomed seven inductees and handed out six of its long-awaited awards designated for local athletes and coaches who spent the last year helping keep the area on the nation's radar.
Palm Beach County Kennel Club rolled out the red carpet for the Palm Beach County Sports Commission's 46th annual event to honor the 2023 class.
The latest Hall of Famers include Jim Arbogast, Jon Bostic, Sonja Friend-Uhl, Eric Moore, Alfred Morris, Brad Peacock, and Johnny Rutledge. But in between the commemorative jersey reveals and plaque exchanges, the sports commission announced the winners of the Annual Sports Awards − a group of names that could very well find themselves among the 561's most acclaimed sports figures in the future.
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Get to know the Commission's picks for amateur athlete of the year, girls and boys high school athletes of the year, coach of the year, high school coach of the year, and Special Olympics athlete of the year:
Amateur Athlete of the Year
Marques Burgess, Keiser University football
The senior running back from Ft. Pierce rushed 1,217 yards and scored 13 touchdowns to lead the Seahawks to NAIA National Championship semifinals in December. In 2022, Burgess nabbed his second NAIA All-American honor, made AP All-America Second Team for the first time in his career and became the school's first player to earn Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Girls High School Athlete of the Year
Luna Curran, Oxbridge softball
Before moving the circle at Western Kentucky, the pitcher had 22 wins, 18 complete games, 14 shutouts, one save, six no-hitters and two perfect games to send Oxbridge on a 23-2-1 run to the Final Four of the Class 2A state championship.
In 2022, Curran tallied 299 of 518 career strikeouts, finishing with a career ERA of 0.60. She earned Player of the Year honors for the Palm Beach Post two years in a row during her varsity run.
Among finalists for the award were American Heritage-Delray lacrosse's Carli Fleisher and Mya Quinn, who won the Post's Athlete of the Year award in 2022 for her contributions to Spanish River flag football.
Boys High School Athlete of the Year
DeeJay Holmes, Pahokee football
Ole Miss will be the next roster to host Holmes after he spent the last few seasons guarding the edge for Pahokee. With a nation-leading 32.5 sacks on the season, the graduating senior helped the Blue Devils to back-to-back region final appearances.
Wake Forest wide receiver commit Micah Mays, a senior at Benjamin, and Stetson first baseman Jayden Hylton, a graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High, were the other finalists.
Coach of the Year
Dusty May, Florida Atlantic University basketball
May's contributions − and counting − to Palm Beach County sports history brought an honor well-earned. From going 19-15 in 2022 to 35-4 in 2023 and becoming the county's first basketball program to reach the Final Four, FAU has made waves across the country with the fifth-year head coach in the front seat.
Keiser football's Doug Socha and Seahawks swimming and diving coach Adam Epstein were finalists.
High School Coach of the Year
Tony Seaman, Saint Andrew's boys lacrosse
Seaman took home this award for the second year in a row after leading the Scots to a sixth state championship − the most of any program throughout Florida. Saint Andrew's finished 20-3 and is 12-2 in 2023, preparing to close out the regular season with a win this week before making another likely trek to the state championships in Naples in May.
Finalists for the honor were Drew Immler of Spanish River flag football and Palm Beach Central football's Kevin Thompson.
Special Olympics Athlete of the Year
Keith Porges
Porges, a 35-year-old resident of Boca Raton, was named Special Olympics Florida Palm Beach County Athlete of the Year in February after more than a decade competing in Special Olympics. In 2022, he went to state games for golf and cheerleading before competing at this year's Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County Hall of Fame hands out annual awards for 2023, inducts 46th class
