Five players from the Sun Gazette’s coverage areas were selected to the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 all-state girls basketball teams.
Madison High School senior guards and twin sisters Alayna Arnolie and Grace Arnolie each made first team, along with Langley High School senior point guard Annabeth Holsinger. Alayna Arnolie was chosen as the state’s Class 6 Player of the Year, as Madison won the Class 6 state title for the third straight season.
Making second-team all-state were Madison senior forward Kiera Kohler and Langley senior guard Caitlyn Shumadine.
The Arnolie sisters and Shumadine each scored more than 1,000 career points.
Grace Arnolie will play college basketball at Brown University and Alayna Arnolie and Holsinger at Gettysburg College.
* In Virginia High School League boys Class 6 basketball, Langley Saxons senior guard Amr Areikat was chosen first-team all-state and Marshall High junior guard/forward Matt Lenert was selected second team.
Areikat was the leading scorer in the 6D North Region this past season, averaging 19 points per game. He made seven three-pointers in a game against Centreville and scored 30 and 37 points in two contests.
Areikat also averaged six rebounds and three assists per game.
He has not yet decided if or where he will play college basketball.
Lenert helped Marshall finish second in the Liberty District tournament.
DIVISION I PRIVATE SCHOOL ALL-STATE HOOPS: Flint Hill School basketball players Saxby Sunderland (boys) and Kelli Giuliani (girls) were second-team Division I all-state private-school basketball selections for their play during the 2021-22 high-school season.
Making second team all-state in Division II girls was Oakcrest School’s Elisabeth Dunch, who scored 1,100 career points during her high-school career.
BOYS NOVA CHALLENGE: Local High School boys basketball players Gowtam Kommi, Adien Hrnjez, Connor Scinto, Eli Nassif and Matthew Lenert from Marshall, Madison’s Bo Kuhblank and Andrew Gorkowski and Langley’s Amr Areikat were chosen to play in the annual Nova Challenge all-star basketball games played March 20 at Fairfax High School.
Kuhblank was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the North Fairfax senior all-star team.
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID, the Nova Challenge returned with three all-star games.
This event showcased the top public-school boys players from Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria. There also was a slam dunk and three-point shooting contest.