From the brilliant white gowns and sharp tuxedos to classmates cramming together on the front steps of the school for the class photo, commencement at Summit Country Day School is teeming with tradition.
Then seniors Dustin Cohen, Mike Keslosky, Mike Norman and Justin Sanders turned the typical proceedings on its collective head 25 years ago. They arrived at graduation wearing eye black and baseball jerseys caked with dirt.
Why the stark contrast in attire? They had just returned from winning the 1995 Division IV baseball state championship, the first title in school history.
“After we celebrated (the victory), they rounded up the seniors and told us we had to go. Without telling us where we were going, they put us into a vehicle,” Mike Norman said. “We were floored when we got to the airport and were told that someone had sent a private jet to fly us and our families back home so that we could make graduation. That was one of the craziest moments of my life. It was like being a superstar.”
