Liz Lewis and Phebe Clare Winters agree this year’s class at Trinity Episcopal Day School was a competitive group.

That’s why the honor of being named valedictorian and salutatorian carries such meaning.

&uot;Our whole class – they’re all really smart,&uot; said Lewis, this year’s valedictorian.

For this reason, the ranking of the senior class remained a mystery for some time.

&uot;It was really close,&uot; said Winters this year’s salutatorian. &uot;We didn’t find out until the last minute.&uot;

The situation caused some nervousness they said because &uot;they wouldn’t give you any hints or anything.&uot;

But with that milestone behind them, the two students are now looking forward to college.

Lewis said she applied to many schools before settling on Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

&uot;I wanted to stay in the South definitely and I’ve got some relatives in North Carolina,&uot; she said.

She also wanted to try out a larger community.

&uot;I just wanted something different because I’ve lived here all of my life,&uot; Lewis said.

She is considering taking classes in psychology and she expects academics at Wake Forest University to be challenging

Her classmate decided to attend school closer to home. Since Winters’ family are fans of Louisiana State University, that helped narrow down the choice.

&uot;I just felt more at home at LSU,&uot; she said.

Winters plans to study biology in college and to enter the medical field.

Lewis is the daughter of Bruce and Karen Lewis, and Winters is the daughter of Gerry Winters and Phebe Winters.