Tulsa's best honored at the 2024 All-World Awards Banquet (2024)

Walking down the red carpet once must not have been enough for Sperry’s Brady Benham and Owasso’s Jayelle Austin.

So they did it twice, as they were named the top athletes in their sport — Benham for boys wrestling and Austin for softball — and the overall Boys and Girls Athletes of the Year Awards.

“If you saw me, I was cheesing pretty hard,” Benham said. “I obviously like doing that; I’ve never had this kind of experience in my life, so that’s exciting.

The 2024 All-World Awards Banquet celebrated 30 honors for current and former Tulsa-area high school athletes and coaches Thursday in the Cox Business Convention Center’s Tulsa Ballroom.

Since 2017, the All-World Awards have recognized excellence in the metro’s high school sports, and Bill Knight Automotive sponsored the event for a fifth consecutive year. Athletes from 20 high school varsity sports were named the best in their sport, and two were crowned with overall athlete honors, along with awards for comeback, inspirational and scholar athletes of the year, the top coaches and a lifetime achievement award.

Former Union wrestling coach and administrator Steve Dunlap was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Jett Calmus from Jenks and Avery Littlefield from Stillwater were honored as Comeback Athlete of the Year and Mike Brown Inspirational Athlete of the Year, respectively. Edison also took home the award for Best Fans, Mascot, Dance Team, Cheer Squad and Band of the Year.

The top honors, though, went to Benham and Austin.

Although Benham was a three-sport standout, he excelled as a four-time state champion in wrestling. Benham finished his senior year in the winter with a 40-0 record and became the state’s 48th four-time champ. He is heading off in August to wrestle for the University of Iowa after finishing his high school career with a 139-11 record.

“I like to think of myself as humble,” Benham said. “Those other guys, I think some of those guys are better than me.”

Austin, a rising senior at Owasso, had a .619 on-base percentage her junior year, and whether teams pitched around her or not, she often found herself on base. The Oklahoma State commit still has one more season as a three-sport athlete in Owasso before heading to Stillwater, and she’s honored to be named the top girls athlete.

“I wasn’t even expecting to get girls player of the year,” she said. “There’s a bunch of good athletes, and it was great to be able to be noticed.”

As Benham leaves as one of the most dominant Oklahoma high school wrestlers ever, he heads to a wrestling juggernaut in Iowa. The same for Austin after her senior year, who leaves for a Women’s College World Series-regular in OSU.

Tulsa’s best are among the country’s best.

All-World Award winners

Football Offensive Player of the Year: Jamarian Ficklin, Muskogee

Football Defensive Player of the Year: Hank Puckett, Bixby

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year: Bella Nelson, Owasso

Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year: Trae Baker, Tahlequah

Volleyball Player of the Year: Curry Kendall, Bishop Kelley

Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Tyla Heard, Sapulpa

Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Jalen Montonati, Owasso

Girls Swimmer of the Year: Addison Howze, Bartlesville

Boys Swimmer of the Year: Griffin Craig, Bartleville

Girls Wrestler of the Year: Kali Hayden, Union

Boys Wrestler of the Year: Brady Benham, Sperry

Softball Player of the Year: Jayelle Austin, Owasso

Baseball Player of the Year: Jackson Farrell, Owasso

Girls Golfer of the Year: Megan Kalapura, Holland Hall

Boys Golfer of the Year: Coleman Sides, Cascia Hall

Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Layney Molini, Oologah

Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Jack Franklin, Jenks

Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Avery Arant, Jenks

Boys Tennis Player of the Year: Krishna Bhadriraju, Jenks

Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Tennyson Housley, Lincoln Christian

Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Jack Keith, Collinsville

Comeback Athlete of the Year: Jett Calmus, Jenks

Mike Brown Inspirational Athlete of the Year: Avery Littlefield, Stillwater

Boys Athlete of the Year: Brady Benham, Sperry

Girls Athlete of the Year: Jayelle Austin, Owasso

Lifetime Achievement Award: Steve Dunlap

Girls Scholar Athlete of the Year: Bella Leep, Sapulpa

Boys Scholar Athlete of the Year: Sam McCormick, Bixby

Girls Coach of the Year: Sam Bowers, Oologah

Boys Coach of the Year: Travis Hill, Muskogee

Best Fans, Mascot, Dance Team, Cheer Squad and Band of the Year: Edison

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