Riley Ridge was named Valedictorian for the Worth County Class of 2026 and Brayden Combs was Salutatorian for graduation ceremonies Sunday. Twenty students graduated from Worth County. "You will continue to learn and grow. Always display your Tiger pride, and we are always behind you," said Principal Josh Smith.
Graduating this year were Jace Cameron, Alyssa Clarkson, Brayden Combs, Katie Fletchall, Lucas Frisch, Andrew Griffin, Wyatt Hill, Brayden Murphy, Brylea Paxson, Conner Pointer, Matthew Ray, Riley Ridge, Eric Ritchie, Rylee Ruckman, Marissa Schmitz, Rayleigh Smith, Reed Smyser, Bailey Steele, Brayden Stevens, and Sawyer Thurman. Graduating with honors were Jace Cameron, Alyssa Clarkson, Katie Fletchall, Wyatt Hill, Brayden Murphy, Brylea Paxson, Eric Ritchie, Rayleigh Smith, Bailey Steele, Brayden Stevens, and Sawyer Thurman. Graduating with highest honors were Brayden Combs, Riley Ridge, and Marissa Schmitz. Out of 20 graduating students at Worth County, 14 graduated with honors or with highest honors.
Riley Ridge was Senior Class President. Brayden Combs was Vice-President. Katie Fletchall was Secretary. Brylea Paxson was Treasurer. Brayden Combs and Bailey Steele were Student Council Representatives. Class sponsors were April Healy, Karen Andrews, and Emiley Maudlin. The Class Motto was, "Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. Class colors were violet and white. The class flower was the carnation. The class song was, "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)." Katie Fletchall designed the program.
Amber Walker, mother of graduating senior Andrew Griffin, recognized the parents, teachers, and guardians. She said that school taught them important lessons like how to create a 10-page paper and learning survival skills.
"It's about growth," she said. "It's about how to recover from failure and show up when you thought you had nothing more to give. If you don't have a five-year plan for yourself, welcome to the adult world."
She encouraged students to be dependable, curious, and kind. She presented them with a keychain complete with geolocation details of the school if they ever get lost.
Salutatorian Brayden Combs recounted the time that COVID-19 hit their sixth grade year and how they used it as an excuse during seventh grade. He encouraged classmates to keep going forward even when adversity hit, like the time the whole class got detention.
Valedictorian Riley Ridge recounted how they were the class that teachers warned each other about, yet they somehow got through that. "Underneath all the chaos, we built something real," she said. She thanked all the mothers in the audience and said that her mother was someone she looked up to. "She was a constant through everything," she said. "She showed me what hard work meant."
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