Gibbs High School students get surprise graduation ceremony in the middle of Spring Fling

Dressed in pale blue caps and gowns, Gibbs High School students heard their class valedictorian's speech and smiled at their parents as they symbolically moved their tassels from one side to the other.

It was a traditional graduation ceremony the morning of May 20 with one massive twist: The 13 students and their families were 140 miles away from home at a borrowed auditorium in Murfreesboro. The Gibbs athletics director surprised everyone with an impromptu graduation amid Tennessee's Spring Fling high school sports extravaganza.

The 13 athletes competing for track and field, baseball and softball this week missed their school's commencement back home that day, and athletics director Dustin Mynatt worked with administrators at Siegel High School in Murfeesboro to pull off the true surprise.

"It's pretty neat to see communities come together to help students," Mynatt said. "It was a special moment."

Mynatt relied on some parents and his staff to get 160 friends and family members to the site, he told Knox News.

"A lot of people were involved," he said, including his father-in-law, who had a connection with the local restaurant that supplied lunch.

Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @AreenaArora and on Instagram @areena_news

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Gibbs High School athletes get special graduation at Spring Fling