St. Thomas Aquinas is accustomed to success. The Overland Park, Kansas powerhouse is the reigning 5A state champion, and its success goes back even farther than that.

The Saints have won 17 national titles, including seven in a row from 2010-17. They have been a mainstay near the top of national polls, even nabbing the No. 2 spot in one ranking in 2005.

This year’s team is living up to that tradition, having finished the regular season with a 12-0-2 record, including a win over last year’s 6A state champs.

Defender Assa Kante is a Kansas commit and one of five seniors who will continue their soccer careers in college. She is joined by Abby Hansen (Missouri State), Shandon Carr (Washburn University), Maria Jensen (MidAmerica Nazarene University) and Mara Loughman (Benedictine College). Sophomore Sydney Watts has also committed to play for Vanderbilt.

With that talent and experience, the Saints hope to add another state championship trophy to their cabinet this spring after moving up one spot in the latest JWS high school soccer rankings.

(Note that these rankings do not include teams from Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.)

Girls soccer final pic.twitter.com/H944Avsrf1

— GoAquinasSaints (@GoAquinasSaints) May 7, 2022

1. Valor Christian (Colo.), 14-0

The Eagles capped a perfect regular season with a win over previously unbeaten Pine Creek and then opened the postseason Tuesday with a commanding 8-0 win.

2. South County (Va.), 12-0-1

In a matchup of undefeated teams, South County beat Fairfax on Friday and followed it up with a 4-0 win Tuesday.

3. Gretna (Neb.), 19-0

The Dragons are just two wins away from a state championship and an unbeaten season.

4. Colonial Forge (Va.), 13-0

The Eagles are one win away from an undefeated regular season.

5. Valley (Iowa), 14-0

Anna Van Wyngarden has been involved in nearly half of Valley’s 50 goals this season with 12 goals and another 12 assists.

6. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.), 12-0-2

The Saints ended the regular season undefeated thanks to a 1-1 tie Friday, and now turn their attention toward defending their Class 5A state championship.

7. Liberty North (Mo.), 17-0

Florida commit Megan Hinnenkamp had a hat trick, and the Eagles ended the regular season undefeated with a 4-0 win over Lee’s Summit West. It was the Eagles’ second win this season over Lee’s Summit West, which has won or tied its 17 other games.

8. Colgan (Va.), 13-1-1

The Sharks have allowed just two goals since a 3-1 defeat to Colonial Forge on March 23.

9. Legacy (Colo.), 15-1

The Lightning opened the postseason with an emphatic 10-0 win as junior Kendall Rippley (Air Force commit) scored five goals and added an assist, and senior Juliauna Hayward (Colorado commit) collected five assists and a goal.

10. Yorktown (Va.) 13-1-1

The Patriots followed a scoreless draw Monday with a 6-2 win on Senior Night two days later.

11. Wando (S.C.), 17-1

After a 4-2 win over Chapin in the Lower State Finals, the Warriors are just one win away from back-to-back Class AAAAA state championships.

12. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 20-1

The Bulldogs enter the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak and as the defending 3A state champions.

13. Bentonville (Ark.) 16-1-2

The Tigers’ undefeated season came to a crashing halt with a 3-0 loss to Bentonville West. Bentonville now begins state tournament play this Friday.

14. Triad (Ill.), 18-1

The Knights have allowed just five goals all season and posted 14 shutouts.

15. O’Fallon (Ill.), 17-1

The Panthers are putting that mid-season loss to Triad behind them, and the reigning Class 3A state champions appear primed for another playoff run.

16. Hudsonville (Mich.), 10-0-1

Hudsonville has given up just three goals this season, and just one in the last nine games.

17. Grandview (Colo.), 13-1-2

The Wolves ended the regular season with a 2-0 win over fellow 5A power Columbine to earn the fourth seed in the state playoffs and opened the postseason with another 2-0 victory.

18. Pine Creek (Colo.), 15-1

The Eagles nearly knocked off No. 1 Valor Christian but fell 4-3 in overtime. They bounced back from that defeat with a 4-0 win in the first round of the state playoffs.

19. James Island (S.C.), 19-1-2

A 5-3 win over Hilton Head gave the Trojans their second Lower State championship in as many years. Now, they look to repeat as Class AAAA state champions.

20. Lyons Township (Ill.), 17-1

Last year’s Class 3A state runners-up enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak, having outscored opponents 57-6 this season.

21. Oregon (Wis.), 13-0-1

The Panthers had given up four goals in 13 games before surrendering two Wednesday in a 2-2 draw.

22. Broomfield (Colo.), 13-2

After a disappointing end to the regular season, Broomfield opened the postseason with a victory.

23. Metea Valley (Ill.), 15-2-1

The Mustangs knocked off previously ranked Naperville Central 4-1 to win their first DuPage Valley Conference title.

24. Muskego (Wis.), 9-0-3

The Warriors have given up just four goals all season, but two of those goals have resulted in 1-1 ties. The other was a scoreless draw.

25. Nerinx Hall (Mo.), 16-2-1

The Markers won five of their first eight games. Since then, last year’s Class 4 state finalists have reeled off 11 consecutive victories.

Phillip Suitts is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has worked at a variety of outlets, including The Palm Beach Post and Southeast Missourian, and done a little bit of everything from reporting to editing to running social media accounts. He was born in Atlanta but currently lives in wintry Philadelphia. Follow Phillip on Twitter @PhillipSuitts.

US skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is officially back, clinching her spot on Team USA's 2026 Winter Olympics roster this week behind stellar recent performances on the sport's World Cup tour.

The 41-year-old made headlines two weekends ago when she became the oldest Alpine Ski World Cup winner since the circuit's 1967 inception, taking first in the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on December 12th — her 83rd World Cup victory.

"Every single thing that I could do to be faster, I did," said Vonn after winning the downhill event. "And now, now this is what happens. You get the reward."

Vonn is continuing to rack up the rewards, claiming podium finishes in four of the five total races she's competed in so far this season, earning another second-place downhill finish in St. Moritz before taking third in both downhill and the Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, last weekend.

As for her fifth World Cup race, Vonn clocked in at a still-impressive fourth.

"Four podiums in five races, I couldn't really be any happier," the Olympic gold medalist said in response.

Those finishes have the US ski legend sitting at No. 1 in the World Cup downhill standings and No. 3 in the Super-G — with her downhill ranking putting her far enough ahead to guarantee Vonn one of the four Team USA roster spots at the 2026 Olympics.

"Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication," said US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, confirming Vonn's Team USA qualification in a Tuesday statement. "She's proven once again that elite performance isn't just about past success, it's about rising to the moment, race after race."

Success spurs Vonn to extend final competitive season

Returning to competitive skiing in November 2024 following her retirement in February 2019, Vonn spent part of her five-year hiatus undergoing and recovering from a titanium knee replacement that ultimately returned her to the slopes.

Though Vonn previously planned to retire immediately after February's Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, she's now setting her sights on completing the World Cup circuit in March — though that will officially be the end of the road for the US icon.

"I feel like I'm rolling the dice enough as it is, being 41 and putting myself through this," Vonn told The Athletic. "So this is a one-season, final season."

That said, she'll look to add to her trio of Olympic medals before hanging up her competitive skis.

"For Cortina, things are looking pretty f—ing awesome."

The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.

"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."

While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.

With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.

Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.

The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.

The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.

Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.

The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.

Monday's AP Top 25 Poll featured few dramatics, as the Week 8 tally reflected another consistent slate from the 2025/26 NCAA basketball elite with only one shift in the Top 10 and marginal movement at the bottom.

Undefeated TCU keeps making gains, rising one spot to tie Oklahoma at No. 8 after taking down Big 12 foe Kansas State 77-55 behind senior guard Olivia Miles's 29-point performance on Saturday.

On the other hand, a 90-64 loss to No. 1 UConn on Saturday saw Iowa skid three spots, with the now-No. 14 Hawkeyes falling to a 1-2 record against ranked opponents this season.

Outside the relatively stationary Top 10, some blue chip programs are threatening to exit the AP Poll entirely after dropping ranked games last weekend.

Baylor experienced the greatest slide, dropping seven spots to No. 22 after falling 61-60 to Big 12 rival and rankings newcomer No. 21 Texas Tech on Sunday — the Bears' third loss in their season's four ranked games so far.

Tennessee saw a similar dip, plummeting six spots to No. 23 after losing to a surging No. 13 Louisville 89-65 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

The ranked action returns on Sunday, as No. 4 UCLA visits No. 19 Ohio State at 2 PM ET, live on the Big Ten Network.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 8

1. UConn (12-0, Big East)
2. Texas (14-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (12-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (11-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (13-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (10-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (13-0, Big Ten)
T8. TCU (13-0, Big 12)
T8. Oklahoma (12-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (13-0, Big 12)
11. Kentucky (12-1, SEC)
12. Vanderbilt (12-0, SEC)
13. Louisville (12-3, ACC)
14. Iowa (10-2, Big Ten)
15. Ole Miss (12-2, SEC)
16. UNC (11-3, ACC)
17. USC (9-3, Big Ten)
18. Notre Dame (9-2, ACC)
19. Ohio State (11-1, Big Ten)
20. Nebraska (12-0, Big Ten)
21. Texas Tech (14-0, Big 12)
22. Baylor (11-3, Big 12)
23. Tennessee (8-3, SEC)
24. Michigan State (11-1, Big Ten)
25. Princeton (12-1, Ivy)

USWNT star Catarina Macario could be on the move, with ESPN reporting Monday that numerous interested NWSL teams may make a play for the 26-year-old Chelsea FC forward in 2026.

Macario's contract with the reigning six-time WSL champions expires on July 1st, though FIFA regulations allow her to sign with a new club as early as January, with other European clubs expected to join hopeful NWSL teams in the race.

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Despite leading the USWNT with eight goals in 2025, Macario did not dress for Chelsea's recent UWCL league-phase finale against Wolfsburg last week, with the attacker starting just six of the Blues' 11 WSL matches so far this season.

Should an NWSL club make an offer, its viability could hinge on the league's current salary cap dispute, with the Board of Governors suggesting the adoption of a "High Impact Player" rule to help teams keep or attract big names.

However, the NWSL Players Association came out against the mechanism last week, pushing instead to raise the overall cap to match any potential special relief.

Though a Macario NWSL deal is mere speculation at the moment, leagues on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to grapple with the demands of retaining or drawing top talent in the increasingly competitive — and expensive — global women's game.