It was another strong year in the Concorde, despite Madison’s streak of four consecutive state titles being broken. The district’s strength was evident in the Northern Region Quarterfinals, where the Concorde swept the Liberty District in all four matchups.
Centreville won the regular season crown, while Oakton won the Concorde Tournament for the second season in a row. Last year the MVP was Jahniya Marion of Centreville. The Player of the Year this season figured to also come from Centreville, by virtue of the Wildcats’ dominant, undefeated district finish.
While Marion, a great all-around big guard adept at setting up her teammates, could have easily won the award again, this year the Concorde MVP went to Wildcats junior Kennedy Parrott. Parrott had dealt with a lot of injuries her first two years on varsity, but the explosive guard had a very good junior year. The Colgate signee has fantastic elevation on her jumper and excels in transition.
The district MVP was going to come from Centreville this year, but you could argue nobody in the district was as important to their teams as Madison senior Stella Gougoufkas and Westfield senior Emma O’Connor.
Everything flowed through Gougoufkas at Madison, and when the forward with excellent handles was out with an illness, the Warhawks went on a losing streak. O’Connor anchored the middle for the Bulldogs, defending the paint against all comers. She also provided consistent offense and surprised smaller opponents with her ball-handling. Both will play college basketball next season, Gougoufkas at Holy Cross and O’Connor at Christopher Newport.
Avery Griepentrog of Madison and Finley Tarr of Oakton rounded out the first team selections from the seniors. Both had very good years–Griepentrog anchoring the Warhawks defense down low and Tarr again providing clutch shooting and play for the young Cougars. Four other seniors made second team all-district: Lillian Perkins, Bridget Brennan, Sam Etzler, and Hannah Wakefield. That’s a pretty good senior class graduating.
Only two juniors, Parrott and agile Chantilly forward Emerson Mustard, were included on the all-district teams. However, it’s hard not to notice the impact sophomores on the list. Sophie Toole of Oakton was a defensive ace her freshman year–this year Fred Preister also ran his offense through her. Alivia Tarry at guard and Alex Wilson at center are two future Player of the Year candidates, and will team with Mustard to make the Chargers formidable next season. Brooke Chang teams with Toole at Oakton to form a very, very good backcourt, while Centreville’s Sofia Caraus is one of the better shooters in Northern Virginia.
Going forward, there’s no reason to not think the Concorde won’t remain strong…
–Chris Jollay
