Identical twins from Tampa, Florida, graduated with matching stellar grade-point averages, earning them the title of co-salutatorians.
Alex and Dane Deevers, 18, graduated from Wharton High School with whopping 9.12 GPAs after taking Advanced Placement classes. They also took dual-enrollment classes at Hillsborough Community College, said their mom, Stephanie Deevers.
The valedictorian, Sonya Patel, graduated with a 9.40 GPA, said district spokesperson Erin Maloney.
Students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools district can take more difficult classes and earn a weighted GPA, said Maloney.
For every AP class, students get an additional .08 per semester added onto their GPA. For honors classes, they get an additional .04 per semester.
“In order for the twins to have such high GPAs, they had to start taking advanced classes before high school and take even more than a full class load each year, including over the summer … and get high grades in all of them,” Maloney told USA TODAY.
Their mother said she recalls them taking classes during the summer, just before entering ninth grade.
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They both plan to go to the University of Florida. Alex wants to become a doctor, while Dane wants to study engineering and physics, their mother said.
“I always say they’re kind of in a rowboat and they all have learned to row in the same direction,” she said.
The twins’ mom said they tutor and juggle multiple sports. Alex was captain of the swim team, while Dane was captain of the track team, she said.
The boys are all done with school now, but during the school year, the day started early for them.
“They would be up at 5:00 in the morning for swim practice, go take six AP courses plus college courses, lacrosse practice until 11:00 and study until 1:00 in the morning,” she said. “Just watching then, I was exhausted, but they still had fun. They never complained. They just did it.”
When they aren’t studying, they work out at the gym, trying to stay fit.
“Dane is a big runner,” their mom said. “He’s out at some point in time running between 6 and 10 miles a day.”
Wharton High School Principal Michael Rowan called the twins “well-rounded.”
“They are academically gifted, but more importantly, act as leaders in our school every day,” he wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. “We are excited to see them thrive together in college and beyond.”
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia, and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas and food.
Saleen Martin, sdmartin@usatoday.com, Twitter: @Saleen_Martin