Athletics
The Mountain Lakes High School Lakers compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference which includes public and parochial high schools covering Morris, Sussex and Warren counties in northwestern New Jersey, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the NJSIAA.
Mountain Lakes High School is well known for its athletic program. Its major sports are football, lacrosse, and swimming. In 2006, the lacrosse team made it to the state finals. The 2007 boys lacrosse team won the NJSIAA Group I State Championship with an 8-6 win over Madison High School. The team moved on to win the Tournament of Champions, defeating Hunterdon Central Regional High School 9-5 in the semifinals, and took the ToC title with a 13-11 victory over Delbarton School, thereby, becoming state champions. On April 25, 2009, Tim Flynn became the first head coach in New Jersey, and only sixth coach in the nation, to reach 500 career wins. Flynn has been coaching Mountain Lakes High School for 30 years.
The 2007 girls lacrosse team won their own North, Group I state sectional title, edging Chatham High School 14-13 in the tournament final.
The football program, now under new head coach Darrell Fusco, is one of the winningest in the state. Its highlights include several state championships, including two undefeated state championship teams in the 1970s. During the years 2000-2010 the team's record was 99-15, which included a 23-game win streak from Thanksgiving 2001 until late November 2003, as well as a 36-game win streak that began at the start of the 2008 season and continued until a loss in the 2010 state sectional final against Wallington High School. In 2002 the football program won the North II, Group I state sectional title over arch rival Boonton High School by a score of 23-6 to cap a perfect 12-0 season and earn the program's first state title since 1976. In 2008, the football team won the North I Group I State Championship vs. Glen Rock High School at Giants Stadium on December 5, 2008, by a score of 35-21 and finished with an overall record of 12-0. Coach Wilkins won his 300th career game in October 2007, in addition to having won over 22 CHC titles, a streak of 20 consecutive seasons of making the NJSIAA playoffs, and did not have a losing season since 1984, retiring in 2010 after having won 328 games and a seventh state championship in his 44 seasons with the school's football program.
The boys swimming team won the 2007 North II - B state sectional championship with a 112-58 win over Chatham High School. The team moved on to win the 2007 Group B State Championship, edging Haddonfield High School 86-84. The team won their fourth consecutive title in 2008, matching a feat that had not been accomplished by a public school since the 1970s. The boys swim team won the state championship every season since the 2004-05 season, until losing to Haddonfield in 2010.
The girls swim team won the state title in the 2007-08 season over Chatham High School, making Mountain Lakes swimming to be the first high school to ever have both the boys and the girls win states.
In 2006, the girls basketball team won North I, Group I state sectional title, edging Pascack Hills High School 43-42 in the tournament final.
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