Herndon monument climb one hour in. @capgaznews @NavalAcademy @USNAAlumni pic.twitter.com/SbK7f6rqeX
— Joshua McKerrow (@joshuamckerrow) May 18, 2015A long way to go at the Herndon climb. @capgaznews @NavalAcademy @USNAAlumni pic.twitter.com/n8WaqULD7M
— Joshua McKerrow (@joshuamckerrow) May 18, 2015The Herndon Monument climb has begun. These guys look like they have a plan. #USNA #abc2 pic.twitter.com/5iFL9AmHOp
— Don Harrison (@DiscofromABC2) May 18, 2015#WJZ NOW: An hour in and they're still at it! U.S. Naval Academy, Herndon Monument Climb. @cbsbaltimore pic.twitter.com/CLKcyRcFUO
— Marcus Washington (@WJZMarcus) May 18, 2015
WASHINGTON — The plebe class of the Naval Academy carried out a time-honored tradition Monday when its members climbed to the top of the Herndon Monument, braving rain and heat in the process.
The class of 2018 climbed to the top of the 21-foot obelisk covered in more than 200 pounds of lard to retrieve a plebe Dixie cup and replace it with a midshipman cover. The trial signifies the end of the plebe year.
The plebes completed the challenge in 1 hour, 38 minutes and 36 seconds.
This year, Midshipman 4th Class Javarri Beachum — a 19-year-old Port St. Joe, Florida, native — reached the top first.
According to legend, the plebe who replaces the plebe cover with the midshipman’s cover will become the first member of the class to become an Admiral.
“My sponsor was the first one — I told her, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to put it up there,’ ” he told Navy Times.
The plebes faced stifling humidity and heat as temperatures reached the 80s, and even encountered heavy rainfall at one point.
Beachum says the class worked together and strategized to reach the goal.
“We put the bigger guys on the bottom, all that we could, but even they couldn’t hold out for long, because that was a long hour and a half,” he said to Navy Times. “It took our whole class just pushing together.”
The first recorded Herndon climb, in 1963, took 12 minutes. The record is 1 minute and 30 seconds, but that was before upperclassmen started greasing the monument, Navy Times reports.
Watch video of the climb below:
