NETTLETON - Fans fluttered, parents flashed cameras and babies fidgeted as the Class of 2010 crossed the Nettleton High School gym floor to receive their diplomas Friday night.

Wet conditions forced the graduation inside, but the 106 Nettleton graduates kept their cool.

Valedictorian Devan Richardson evoked both the excitement and apprehension that comes with high school graduation.

"High school graduation is a lot like deep sea diving for the first time," Richardson said. "I'm looking forward to diving overboard, but I'm a little sad, too."

Getting to graduation was an adventure for the girls softball team. Six seniors rushed back from Jackson after a 10-inning loss to Clarksdale in first game of the 3A state championship series.

Katie Leach and her teammates hardly had a moment to brush the dirt off their uniforms, which they wore under their gowns.

"We had just enough time," Leach said. "Right after this we're going back to Jackson" for Game 2 and, hopefully, 3 of the series Saturday. "We're going to win."

So many of the Nettleton seniors have been classmates since kindergarten and have never attended class on another campus.

"All of my classmates have been a part of my life so long, I can't imagine life without them," said Holly Schlicht, in her salutatory address.

Before "Pomp and Circumstance" began, Nikki Ray snapped a few pictures with her closest friends.

"I want to hold on to the memories of walking into the gym and seeing all the smiling faces," said Ray, who is headed to the University of Mississippi to study occupational therapy.

Although Amanda Adams is not going far, she'll be one of only three Nettleton grads headed to Northeast Mississippi Community College.

"It's going to be weird, but I'll adjust," said Adams, who plans to study nursing.

Marquez Bowden, who will be heading off to the University of Colorado at Boulder to study engineering, said he's excited to make new friends, but he's a little nervous, too. But he feels Nettleton schools have armed him with the tools to be successful.

"The best thing I learned here was not to procrastinate," Bowden said. "If you've got business, take care of it."

Graduation: 106

Valedictorian: Devan Richardson

Salutatorian: Holly Schlicht