At the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year, Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) honored their “Of the Year” awards for Athletics and Fine Arts. TAPPS is comprised of over 200 private schools around the state of Texas and is divided across six divisions based on school enrollment. Concordia competes in 6A, TAPPS’ largest division comprised of the highest enrollment private schools in the state.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Concordia was honored with the 2023-2024 TAPPS 6A Female AND Male Athletes of the Year in Adele Neuhaus ’24 and Nolan Traeger ’24!
A rare three-sport varsity athlete, Neuhaus was a key leader in multiple areas on campus and helped lead her teams to excellent seasons. Between volleyball, girls basketball, and girls track and field, Neuhaus constantly and proudly wore Concordia/Crusaders in her competitions. She was named both Concordia’s Female Christian Athlete and Female Athlete of the Year for the 2023-2024 school year. Neuhaus will head to Baylor University in the Fall to pursue a degree in Exercise Physiology and eventually physical therapy school in the future.
Traeger was a rare four-year starter on the varsity Crusader Baseball team, one of Concordia’s most competitive athletic programs. Over the last four years, Traeger has helped the team reach at least the State Final Four in each season. Traeger was also honored as Concordia’s 2023-2024 Male Athlete of the Year. He was a leader in the student section at other sporting events and pep rallies. Outside of Concordia, he was twice selected as a member of the Team USA Baseball first in 2021 on the 15U National Team and then again in 2023 on the 18U National Team. He will be continuing on to TCU to play baseball in the Fall and join his older brother Jax Traeger ’22 who also competed for CLHS baseball and is a RHP for the Horned Frogs.
Award Recipient Resumes
Adele Neuhaus ’24
2023-2024:
Volleyball
- All-State Tournament Team
- Honorable Mention All-District
- CLHS reached the State Final Four
Girls Basketball
- Academic All-State
- 2nd Team All-State
- 1st Team All-District
- CLHS reached the Regional Round (Elite 8) of the TAPPS 6A State Tournament
Girls Track & Field
- Academic All-State
- Honorable Mention All-State in Long Jump (3rd Place at State Meet)
- 5th Place at State Meet in Triple Jump
- Member of 8th Place at State Meet 4x100 relay team
- CLHS finished 7th out of 14 teams at the State Meet
2022-2023:
Girls Basketball
- Academic All-State
- Honorable Mention All-State
- 1st Team All-District
Girls Track & Field
- Academic All-State
- Honorable Mention All-State in Triple Jump (3rd Place at State Meet)
- 4th Place at State Meet in Long Jump
- Member of the 7th Place at State Meet 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams
- CLHS finished 7th out of 14 teams at the State Meet
2021-2022:
Girls Basketball
- 1st Team All-District
- Member of the 8th Place at State Meet 4x200 relay team
2020-2021:
Girls Basketball
- Honorable Mention All-District
- 4th Place at State Meet in both Triple Jump and 4x100 relay
“Adele Neuhaus has exemplified the highest degree of excellence both on and off the court. She was an amazing overall athlete in three varsity sports. Yes, that’s right, three varsity sports, in an age where most won’t try to play two sports in high school, this young lady has excelled in three! Whether she was qualifying and having podium finishes at the State Track meet, being a varsity starting middle blocker in volleyball in the State Final Four, or being a 1st team All-State basketball player, her athletic abilities are off the chart. However, at the same time, her humbleness, selflessness, and love for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, are even more off the charts. Her ability to show kindness to everyone she encounters and her example to others to live her life for Christ is evident in everything she does. It was all these qualities and more that were the reason why Adele was selected as both the 2024 Female Athlete of the Year and the 2024 Female Christian Athlete of the Year.” – Matt Neidigk ’92, Director of Athletics
Nolan Traeger ‘24
2024 season:
- 1st Team All-State
- 1st Team All-District
- Helped CLHS reach the State Final Four for the 10th consecutive season. The Crusaders reached the State Championship and finished as State Runner-Up with a 24-15-1 overall record.
- BA .342
- OBP .497
- 40 games played
- 41 hits
- 4 HRs
- 22 RBIs
- 40 runs scored
- 24 BBs
- 7 Ks out of 157 plate appearances
2023 season:
- 2nd Team All-State
- 1st Team All-District
- CLHS reached the State Final Four
- BA .310
- OBP .407
- 36 hits
- 16 RBIs
- 28 runs scored
2022 season:
- 1st Team All-State
- 1st Team All-District
- CLHS reached the State Final Four
- BA .333
- OBP .510
- 24 hits
- 23 RBIs
- 25 runs scored
2021 season:
- Starting catcher for the Crusaders in his freshman season
- CLHS reached the State Championship game and finished as State Runner-Up
Concordia’s Director of Athletics, Matt Neidigk ’92, had this to say about Traeger: “Nolan Traeger has been one of the biggest reasons for our Crusader baseball program’s success over the past four years. He’s been a starter for all four years and has been an all-district and all-state selection year after year. His recognition on the world stage has not changed his attitude and work ethic. He is a dedicated player that in continually working to become better. We are thankful to have had him as part of our athletics program at Concordia but overall, as part of our school.”
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Another way in which Concordia’s athletics programs have gained notoriety is through the TAPPS State Competitions each year. TAPPS awards the Henderson Cup each school year for school’s state competition results in athletics, fine arts, and academics.
In the 2023-2024 Henderson Cup, 18 schools competed in the 6A division. This year, Concordia finished 4th Overall with 83 points (up from 9th last year with only 61 points), with 35 points being earned in Athletics and 48 points earned in Fine Arts and Academics. Antonian College Prep (San Antonio, TX) claimed the 2023-2024 Henderson Cup with a total of 109 total points for this school year with 82 points from Athletics and 27 points from Fine Arts and Academics.
This year specifically, our Athletic teams represented well across the different competitions, earning the following points:
- The Baseball team advanced to the State Final Four Tournament for the 10th consecutive season and finished as State Runner-Up (8 pts).
- In Volleyball, the Lady Crusaders reached the State Final Four (6 pts).
- Football, Girls Basketball, and Softball teams all reached the Regional Round (Elite Eight) of the TAPPS State Playoffs (4 pts).
- The Girls Swim team had some excellent performances at the State Meet to help them finish in 5th place as a team with only four qualified swimmers (2 pts).
- Boys Basketball, Boys Soccer, and Girls Soccer all qualified for the TAPPS State Playoffs (2 pts).
- Girls Golf had a phenomenal season with several tournament team and individual victories. They finished 6th place overall at the State Golf Tournament, earning Henderson Cup points for Concordia in Girls Golf with their highest team finish in school history at State (1 pt).
One of the benefits about sending your student to Concordia is the opportunity to be involved in many different activities including fine arts, ag sciences, clubs/organizations, AND athletics. Concordia has an expansive list of Athletic opportunities for students to participate in, and we strive for excellence in everything we do.
To learn more about Athletics at Concordia, or any of our extra-curricular activities, visit www.SaderNationTX.com