MaxPreps named New Trier High School as the fourth-best high school in the country in sports throughout the entire 2023-2024 season. 

With six nationally ranked teams, New Trier took home 10 state trophies and five state championships last school year. The Trevians were ranked No. 3 in boys soccer, No. 6 in boys swimming, No. 8 in girls soccer, No. 11 in girls swimming, No. 24 in boys golf, and No. 25 in girls field hockey.

MaxPreps has state and national rankings for every sport, grading teams based on how much they win and their strength of victory and strength of loss. That is, a team will go down in the rankings if they lose to a team ranked lower than them, while a team will go way up if they beat a team that’s ranked higher than them. To create national rankings, MaxPreps combines rankings from different sports.

Senior Linus Ho, a member of New Trier’s 2023 state championship boys soccer team, said he was surprised his team was ranked third nationally—higher than any other New Trier team. 

“We had some academy players that joined their senior year, so we thought we’d be good, but we didn’t think we’d be third nationally,” Ho said. 

The boys soccer team only lost one game all year and won the state championship with a 3-1 win over Lyons Township High School, a game that served as subconscious revenge because Lyons beat New Trier’s JV team.

Another program that excelled last season was the girls field hockey team. Unlike boys soccer, the team fell short in its state championship to Glenbrook South High School, despite beating them twice already earlier in the season. 

Senior Kennedy Glinn said the experience was “heartbreaking” but made the team stronger. 

Despite the loss, Glinn said she has “a lot of sense of pride” in her team being nationally ranked alongside other teams across the country in a sport that is not super popular in Illinois.

Senior Brady Baxter, a member of New Trier’s swimming program, praised his coaches and teammates for helping the program achieve success. 

“Our head coach is definitely one of the best in the state,” Baxter said. “We have great team camaraderie. We all get along super well. We’re able to push each other without having complications or arguments.”

The Trevians made large strides this past year, but achieving a high national ranking is a tall order for any sport. As former state champions, Ho and his team feel a “target” on their backs.

“Everybody, when they come to play us, wants to beat the former state champions,” Ho said. “Every team that plays us plays like it’s the most important game of their season.”