South Jersey high school graduation honors life of 18-year-old who drowned before ceremony

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

The body of a teen who went missing while swimming in a Gloucester County, New Jersey lake was recovered on Monday afternoon.

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

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

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

Officials said the friend made an effort to rescue Rodriguez, but he 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.