Now that the calendar has flipped to 2024, we wanted to look back at our Fall Sports Season and share how our Crusader Athletes performed and represented Concordia well all over the state in their season.
Cheer
The Crusader Cheer team was named the State Runner-Up in the TAPPS 6A-5A Spirit Division Large Squad after narrowly being edged out by Argyle Liberty Christian. For the competition, the team had a Prelims score of 92.30 and rose the bar for the Finals with a score of 93.28. The Crusaders bested 10 other schools in the division to seal their 6th consecutive season with at least a State Final Four finish:
- 2018-19: State Champion
- 2019-20: State Champion
- 2020-21: State Final Four
- 2021-22: State Runner-Up
- 2022-23: State Final Four
- 2023-24: State Runner-Up
TAPPS Awards:
- Brooke Smith ’24 – TAPPS 6A/5A 1st Team All-State
- Kate Arego ’25 – TAPPS 6A/5A 1st Team All-State
- Remmy Jordan ’26 – TAPPS 6A/5A 2nd Team All-State
- Ava Emerick ’27 – TAPPS 6A/5A Honorable Mention All-State
Other Awards:
- Kylie Hehr ’26 competed in the TAPPS 6A/5A Jumps individual competition and made it through the first few rounds.
Volleyball
38-13 Overall (10-2 District)
Advanced to the TAPPS Final Four but lost to eventual State Champion Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy.
In the last decade, the Lady Crusader Volleyball team has reached at least the State Final Four nine times with a State Title in 2016 and a State Runner-Up finish in 2018.
For her coaching career, Odinga pushed her overall win/loss record to 313-88, winning 78% of matches.
TAPPS Awards:
- S/RS Anna Blaine ’24 – TAPPS 6A 1st Team All-State
- RS/OH Haley Herndon ’25 – TAPPS 6A 1st Team All-State
- OH Rylee Henderson ’24 – TAPPS 6A 2nd Team All-State
- OH McKinzie Riley ’25 – TAPPS 6A 2nd Team All-State
- S Carleigh Schluter ’25 – TAPPS 6A Honorable Mention All-State
Other Awards:
- Head Coach Kim Odinga was selected as the 2023 All-VYPE Private School Volleyball Coach of the Year
- S/RS Anna Blaine ’24 – 1st Team All-VYPE Private School Setter
- OH McKinzie Riley ’25 – 1st Team All-VYPE Private School Hitter
- OH Rylee Henderson ’24 – 2nd Team All-VYPE Private School Hitter
- RS/OH Haley Herndon ’25 – 2nd Team All-VYPE Private School Hitter
- DS Carmen Harless ’24 – Honorable Mention All-VYPE Private School Libero/DS
- S Carleigh Schluter ’25 – Honorable Mention All-VYPE Private School Setter
Football
8-4 Overall (1-3 District)
Advanced to the TAPPS 6A Regional Round (Quarterfinals) following the program’s first home playoff victory since 2016 in the Area Round (Round of 16) beating Fort Worth Nolan Catholic 57-33. (The Round of 16 victory avenged the home playoff game 6-42 loss to Nolan Catholic from 2022.)
The team enjoyed playing inside Schroeder Stadium with a 4-2 overall record at home and opened the season by winning their first six games.
The Crusaders lost to eventual State Champion Dallas Parish Episcopal in the Quarterfinals of the TAPPS 6A Football Playoffs.
TAPPS Awards:
- DB/RB Lou Lamar ’24 – TAPPS 6A 1st Team All-State Defensive Backs
- RB Cole Chance ’24 – TAPPS 6A 2nd Team All-State Offensive Backs
- LB Luken Koehn ’25 – TAPPS 6A 2nd Team All-State Defensive Linebackers
- DB Dayton Navy ’26 – TAPPS 6A Honorable Mention All-State Defensive Backs
Other Awards:
- DB/RB Lou Lamar ’24 was selected as the 2023 All-VYPE Private School Defensive Player of the Year as well as 1st Team All-VYPE Private School Defensive Back
- QB Tanner Huckfelt ’25 – 2nd Team All-VYPE Private School Quarterback
- RB Cole Chance ’24 – Honorable Mention All-VYPE Private School Running Back
- WR Reece Cutrer ’24 – Honorable Mention All-VYPE Private School Wide Receiver
- LB Luken Koehn ’25 – 2nd Team All-VYPE Private School Linebacker
Girls Cross Country
Finished 8th at the TAPPS 6A State Cross Country Meet with a team score of 211. The top finisher for the Lady Crusaders was Megan Groeschel ’24 who crossed the line in 20th place with a time of 13:38.8. For her career at Concordia, Groeschel finished in the top 30 at the State Meet all four seasons.
The previous five seasons, the team finished 6th at State in 2022, 4th in 2021, State Runners-Up in 2020, and 4th in both 2019 and 2018.
Other Awards:
- Megan Groeschel ’24 – 2nd Team All-VYPE Private School Girls Cross Country
- Bentley Shoulders ’25 – Honorable Mention All-VYPE Private School Girls Cross Country
Boys Cross Country
Finished 10th at the TAPPS 6A State Cross Country Meet with a team score of 284. The top finisher for Concordia was Chris Karim in 47th place with a time of 19:25.9. The team is looking forward to the 2024 season and will welcome back 6/7 of the team’s state runners who have gained valuable experience in 2023.