Hilltoppers Reach the Summit: Boys Lacrosse Ranked No. 1 in America

The Perfect Ending

They won the county. They won the state. Then they won the country.

Summit High School's boys lacrosse team finished No. 1 in the nation in the final USA Lacrosse Magazine Public High School Top 25 rankings, capping a 21-2 season that included the program's fourth consecutive NJSIAA Group 3 state championship and the 14th state title overall.

The national ranking places the Hilltoppers at the top of public school lacrosse in America—and it arrives at exactly the right moment. Head coach Jim Davidson recently announced his retirement after the season. For Davidson, for the team, for Summit as a community, this national championship isn't just a trophy. It's a farewell on the highest possible note.

Building a Dynasty

Jim Davidson didn't just coach lacrosse at Summit High School. He built something. Over decades, he transformed the program into one of the most elite in New Jersey. Four straight state championships. Fourteen overall. Generations of players who learned the game from him and learned something larger: how to win, how to compete, how to represent a school and a town.

Coaching at the highest level, especially over a long career, requires something that stats don't capture. Davidson built a culture. He recruited talent. He developed players. He prepared them for college, for life, for the kind of success that extends far beyond the lacrosse field.

The 2026 Hilltoppers embodied everything he built. A 21-2 record. The Union County Tournament championship. Four consecutive state titles—a run that few programs achieve and fewer still sustain. And now a national No. 1 ranking to mark the moment when the architect of that success stepped away.

What This Means

For Summit residents, the boys lacrosse program is synonymous with excellence. That didn't happen by accident. It happened because a coach believed in building something generational. It happened because players committed to a standard. It happened because a community supported the program and showed up to games and celebrated wins.

Davidson's retirement is bittersweet. One era ends. Another will begin. But the foundation he built—the culture, the expectation, the standard—that remains.

The Season

The 2026 Hilltoppers added another chapter to Summit lacrosse history. Talent. Depth. Experience. A combination that fueled a dominant season and a fourth straight state championship. And a national ranking that says what Summit already knew: this program is among the best in America.

It's a fitting conclusion to Jim Davidson's career.

FAQ

Q: How did Summit boys lacrosse finish in the national rankings?
The Hilltoppers finished No. 1 in the nation in the final USA Lacrosse Magazine Public High School Top 25 rankings.

Q: What was the team's record in 2026?
Summit posted a 21–2 record and captured their fourth consecutive NJSIAA Group 3 state championship—the program's 14th state title overall. They also won the Union County Tournament.

Q: Who is Jim Davidson?
Jim Davidson was Summit's longtime head coach who built the program into one of New Jersey's premier lacrosse programs over decades. He guided generations of players through one of the most successful runs in state high school history. He announced his retirement following the 2026 season, which culminated in a national No. 1 ranking and the program's fourth straight state title.

Q: Is this Davidson's first national ranking?
The article doesn't specify whether previous Summit teams under Davidson earned national rankings. This No. 1 ranking arrives in his final season.