Pitman High School graduation ceremony honors life of 18-year-old Victor Rodriguez, who drowned in Lake Alycon

PITMAN, New Jersey (WPVI) — A somber graduation in South Jersey honored the life of an 18-year-old who tragically died over the weekend.

The family of Victor Rodriguez accepted the high school diploma on his behalf on Wednesday night, during the graduation ceremony at Pitman High School.

READ | Body of missing 18-year-old Pitman High School student recovered from Alcyon Lake

Graduating seniors also wore a white ribbon in honor of Rodriguez.

The teen wrester drowned in Lake Alycon on Sunday night, officials say.

He was among the many students set to graduate Wednesday evening.

Investigators say Rodriguez and his friend was trying to swim to the other side of the lake for a “senior scavenger hunt,” but never made it.

Officials said the other male swimming with the teen made an effort to rescue his friend, but was not able to.

“It’s terribly heartbreaking. We are blessed though from the standpoint we have such a close knit community, such a close knit high school,” Pitman Mayor Michael Razze previously told Action News.