5 U.S. women's hockey players attended the same high school en route to Olympics

5 U.S. women's hockey players attended the same high school en route to Olympics originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

As the United States women's hockey team chases a gold medal, there's a handful of players who have traveled a very similar path to this moment.

Five of the U.S. standouts spent time attending the same high school: Bishop Kearney in Rochester, N.Y. There, they played as part of the Selects Academy program, which sent them on their way to Division I opportunities and now to the Olympics.

The quintet from BK Selects that have made the Olympics:

• Haley Winn
• Caroline Harvey
• Laila Edwards
• Ava McNaughton
• Kirsten Simms

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They were some of the earliest attendees of the specialized program at the Catholic high school in upstate New York, which features its own coaches for a team that competes at tournaments throughout that region. The athletes attended high school with the regular student body while getting a high-level hockey education, too.

They know all about being in close quarters. Selects Academy players are housed upstairs of the high school, where nuns used to live when they taught at the school.

Clearly, the program did quality work.

Winn went to Clarkson University, was an All-American and was the second pick in last year's PWHL draft.

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The other four play at national powerhouse Wisconsin. Edwards led the country in goals as a junior. McNaughton went 36-1-2 in goal for the national champs last season. Harvey has 54 points this season in 26 games. Simms has 48 points in 24 games this season.

BK Selects isn't just limited to the U.S. team at these Olympics, either. 

Nina Christof and Jule Schiefer both play for Germany, and Michaela Hesova suits up for Czechia.

Together, some of the rising stars of women's hockey went to school together and pushed one another on the ice. That time has allowed them to reach the pinnacle of their sport.

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