nationwide. In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 718th in the nation among participating public high schools and 56th among schools in New Jersey. Athletics The Verona High School Hillbillies compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the realignment in 2010, the school had participated in the Colonial Hills Conference, which included public and private high schools covering Essex County, Morris County and Somerset County in Northern New Jersey. With 529 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the National White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2018–2020. The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with Glen Ridge High School. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The boys spring / outdoor track team won the Group I state championship in 1943-1945, 1948-1950 and 1952-1954. The boys' basketball team won the Group II state championship in 1957 (defeating Ocean City High School in the tournament's final game) and 2017 (vs. Woodbury High School). The 1957 team won the Group II title with a 43-40 win against an Ocean City team that came into the championship game undefeated. The 2017 team won the program's second state title with a 69-54 win against Woodbury in the Group II tournament championship game and went into the Tournament of Champions as the sixth seed, falling in the quarterfinals to Don Bosco Preparatory High School by a score of 61-51 after leading in the middle of the fourth quarter. The boys' soccer team won the Group II championship in 1957 and 1960 (vs. Irvington Tech High School both years), 1966 (vs. Morris Knolls High School) and 1976 (vs. Lawrence High School), and