North Hunterdon High School

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 2001-02 school year, North Hunterdon High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 623rd in the nation among participating public high schools and 48th among schools in New Jersey.

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 23rd in New Jersey and 759th nationwide. The school was ranked 654th nationwide, the 19th-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools. In Newsweek's May 22, 2007, issue, ranking the country's top high schools, North Hunterdon High School was listed in 587th place, the 11th-highest ranked school in New Jersey.

The school was the 45th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 66th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 60th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 43rd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 37th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 36th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 7 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.0%) and language arts literacy (98.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked North Hunterdon as the 39th best high school in New Jersey and 895th in the nation.

Athletics

The North Hunterdon High School Lions compete in the Skyland Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in west Central Jersey, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,262 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,114 to 4,800 students in that grade range.

Since 1976, North Hunterdon High School's football team has competed in the annual Milk Can Game against rival Voorhees High School. After the conclusion of the game, a golden milk can is awarded to the winner. This school receives bragging rights and ownership of the can until the next year's game. The 41st annual Milk Can Game was played in November 2016, with North Hunterdon winning 42-10, earning its fifth consecutive victory to extend its record in the series to a 28-12-1 record.

The wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group III state sectional title in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1993-1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003, and won the North II Group IV title in 2009; the team won the Group III state championship in 1982, 1984, 1993 and 2002. The program's 13 sectional titles are tied for tenth-most among all public schools.;

The girls' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1985 (defeating Malcolm X Shabazz High School in the tournament final), 1986 (vs. Hanover Park High School) and 1987 (vs. West Morris Mendham High School), and won the Group IV title in 2010 (vs. Eastern Regional High School). In 2010, the Lady Lions varsity basketball team went 27-3, winning the Group IV title, the program's fourth state championship, with a 53-36 win over Eastern Regional. The team lost in the Tournament of Champions to Neptune High School by a score of 53-47.

The field hockey team won the North II, Group III state sectional championship in 1986 and 1993.

The girls' softball team won the 2007 North II, Group IV state sectional championship with an 8-0 win over J. P. Stevens High School. The 2008 team repeated as sectional champions with a 9-8 nine inning nailbiter over Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

North Hunterdon won the boys team foil state championship in 2002. The boys fencing team took home the épée state title in the 03-04 season. In the 08-09 season, the boys fencing team took home the foil state title. The girls fencing team has taken home foil district champions in 05-06, and 06-07 seasons in addition to a sabre district championship title during the 05-06 season.

In 2012, the boys' cross country team won the Skyland Conference Cross Country Championship.

On May 12, 2012, the girls' lacrosse team won the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Championship against their rivals, Hunterdon Central, 14-10, on their home field. Once again in 2013, the girls lacrosse team defended its HWS title against the undefeated Sparta, 20-12, on their home field.

Marching band

The North Hunterdon High School Golden Lion Marching Band performs at the football games. The band currently has 100 members and is led by Vincent Angeline and Charlie Hopta.

In the 06-07 marching season, the band won first place in the Columbus Day Parade, and performed New York, New York with Joe Piscopo.

In April 2010 they went to Disney World to perform in the Dreams Come True Parade. In the 2010-11 season, they played the music of Billy Joel.

The band also performs annually in the New York City Columbus Day Parade, the Clinton Christmas Parade, and the Flemington Memorial Day Parade.

In the 15-16 season, the band performed at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, they played a Disney-themed medley and a patriotic song.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

Notable alumni