Watch: US Naval Academy's freshman class completes annual 'Herndon Climb'

The US Naval Academy's freshman class on Wednesday completed the grueling annual rite of scaling a granite obelisk coated with vegetable shortening. The successful climber was midshipman Lincoln Hedberg - the son of New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill - who placed an upperclassman's cap atop the spire.

The tradition of climbing the 21-foot (6.4 meters) Herndon Monument dates back to 1950, with freshmen, or "plebes", coming together to replace a freshman "Dixie cup" hat with an upperclassman's "combination cap", marking their official passage from first-year plebes to fourth-class midshipmen.

Local news outlets reported that the 2029 graduating class completed the 'Herndon Climb' in 2 hours and 17 minutes. The longest recorded climb has been 4 hours and 5 minutes in 1998 and the shortest time was 20 minutes in 1975, according to the Naval Academy public information office.