This Arizona high school is one of the top 5 schools for student athletes

Discipline, confidence and teamwork are essential life skills best learned early in life.

Through rigorous conditioning or adrenaline-pumping games, high school sports are a great environment for students to struggle and succeed outside the classroom.

A list curated by Niche ranked the best high schools across the country for athletes as of 2024.

Niche weighed factors like parent and student survey responses, the number of championships won, enrollment and sports offered. Of the more than 20,000 high schools evaluated, one Arizona high school cracked the top five.

These are the best United States high schools for athletes as of 2024.

20 best United States high schools for athletes

1. St. Thomas Aquinas - Florida

2. Columbus High School - Florida

3. Bishop Hendricken High School - Rhode Island

4. St. John's Prep - Massachusetts

5. Xavier College Prep Roman Catholic High School- Arizona

6. Boston College High School - Massachusetts

7. Gonzaga College High School - Washington D.C.

8. Cathedral Catholic High School -California

9. La Salle Academy - Rhode Island

10. St. John Bosco - California

11. Bedford High School - New Hampshire

12. St. Edward - Ohio

13. St. Xavier - Kentucky

14. Cardinal Gibbons High School - North Carolina

15. St. Thomas Aquinas - Kansas

16. St. Xavier - Ohio

17. Don Bosco Prep - New Jersey

18. Delbarton School - New Jersey

19. Lincoln-Way East - Illinois

20. Bishop Carroll Catholic - Kansas

Why Xavier College Prep Roman Catholic High School ranked so high?

Xavier is a private, Catholic all-girls school in central Phoenix that has won more than 150 state championships since its founding in 1943. The Xavier College Prep Gators lead the pack as the high school — single-sex or co-ed — with the most state championships in Arizona.

Xavier College Prep consistently produces Division I athletes; multiple professional athletes walked its halls. Former LPGA tour member Heather Farr and USA Women's National Volleyball team member Khalia Lanier were both Gators.

Many of Xavier's other athletic programs share stories of immense success. The swim and dive, beach volleyball and soccer teams have all won the most state championship titles in their respective sport in Arizona. Tennis, volleyball and cross country also rank among the top five programs across the state's high schools.

The school's pride and joy, however, is its golf team, the most decorated athletics program at the school. Much of the team's success can be attributed to Sister Lynn Winsor, who coached the program from 1974 to 2023. During her time as a gator, Winsor was responsible for a national record of 37 state championships, including another national record of 16 consecutive titles between 1980 and 1995.

More: After finishing 15 seconds away from an Olympic spot, Jessica McClain is waiting patiently

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Xavier College Prep ranked among top 5 high schools for athletes