A new study ranking the top public high schools for athletes in the United States found three Minnesota schools to be among the nation's best.
Minnetonka ranked No. 9, Edina No. 23 and Wayzata No. 42.
Championships and college scholarships earned are not factors, however the three ranked Minnesota schools often produce some of the state's best teams. The criteria used skew the list toward suburban schools.
The study was conducted by Niche.com as part of its annual series of studies about education. Results are based on student and parent reviews of athletics (50%), student participation in athletics (20% total with 10% girls and 10% boys), the number of sports offered at the school (10%) and expenses per school (10%).
Niche.com also ranked individual states' top 100 public high schools for athletes. Lakeville North and Chanhassen round-out Minnesota's top 5. Hopkins, East Ridge, Orono, Mahtomedi and Andover complete the state's top 10. Washburn is the highest-ranked city school at No. 15.
In the national study, no states west of Minnesota and south of Illinois made the list. Only schools in the Midwest and Northeast regions were ranked in the top 50. Illinois landed the top three spots on the list.
A spokeswoman for Niche told USA Today that Illinois schools tend to have a high rate of expense per student that leads to more sports being offered and more students participating.
Find out where your school ranks among Minnesota high schools here.
