How 3 Brothers All Became High School Valedictorians

— -- One North Carolina family has reached an unusual achievement: all three sons have become valedictorian at the same high school.

First was Ryan Kramer, now 24.

"He had always done really well in school, straight A's," proud mom Jeannine Haigler told ABC News today.

"Freshman year of high school they lined them up by class rank -- he looked down and his said No. 1. None of us had a clue. This was not something we had strived for or even thought about," Haigler said.

"He had always done well in school," she said. "We had always encouraged that, but not demanded it."

Each year Ryan was a Marshall at the graduation ceremony, meaning he was in the top few in his class, she said. He continued to do well, becoming the family's first valedictorian at North Lenoir High School in 2009.

"Then Sean came along, and Sean is a really, really smart kid. Extremely intelligent," Haigler said. "I think it probably was a lot easier for him, kind of fell into his lap. And he followed suit. And I don't think he was going to let big brother out-do him."

Sean was chief Marshall his junior year, which is when he knew becoming valedictorian was "kind of in the bag," Hailger said. "It's hard to lose GPA points when they're that high."

Sean graduated as valedictorian in 2012.

Third son Evan, 18, "was kind of pressured into it," Haigler said.

"I kept telling him, 'Don't worry about it, don't feel like it's something you have to strive for.' He kept saying, 'I got this,'" Haigler said. "I think he was very inspired by his older brothers."

Evan says he has a great relationship with both of his brothers.

"We pretty much finish each other's sentences," he told ABC News today. "[We] make each other laugh all the time."

But he still felt the pressure to become valedictorian.

"I don't think they ever would let me live it down if I hadn't been," Evan said. "We get along really well, but I felt pressured to live up. They set a really good precedence and I thought I had to achieve the same."

So Evan put in the hard work throughout high school, taking as many advanced placement and honors classes as were available -- and he even managed to achieve a higher GPA than either of his brothers.

At Saturday's graduation, with his older siblings there for support, Evan officially became the family's third valedictorian.

"As Evan came down from the stage, my oldest son kind of slid down into the aisle a little bit and gave him a fist bump. That was pretty cool," Haigler said. "They were very proud of him.

"It was just really special," she said. "It was an exciting day for Evan and I was so happy for him, that he was done with all the pressure.

"[It's a] very proud time for us," Haigler said. "At the same time, it's like a crossroads. He's my third son and he's going off to college in the fall."

Evans plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall and says he may major in psychology.