Double Treble: Springfield graduates three sets of twins

The graduating senior class of 2020 at Springfield High School features three sets of twins: Ivan and Nolan Hovland, Samantha and Noah Richert and Sylvan and Curtis Tauer. 

According to the U. S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “in 2009, one in every 30 babies born in the United States was a twin compared to one in every 53 babies in 1980.” 

For a class size of 42 it’s remarkable that the class of 2020 is graduating three sets of twins. This may be the highest number of twins graduating at one time from Springfield High School in its history. 

The Hovland’s are identical twins. They are the sons of Chad and Tanya Hovland. Ivan is the eldest twin being two minutes older than Nolan. 

The Richert Twins are the fraternal twins of Chris and Sally Richert. In fact, “we are in vitro babies,” said Samantha who is the baby sister to big brother Noah by three minutes.

The Tauer twins are the fraternal twin sons of Dennis and Chris Tauer. Sylvan is one minute older than Curtis. 

You can call it fate, luck or something in the water. As the Hovland twins said, “It’s crazy that there are three sets of twins in our grade! Since identical twins are kind of a fluke, we guess our parents just got lucky.”

The Hovlands attended Akin Road Elementary School in Farmington, Minnesota until the second grade and then moved to Springfield. They’ve been at Springfield Public School ever since.

The Richert’s have attended Springfield Public Schools since they were little.  

The Tauer’s attended St. Raphael School and Springfield High School. 

See complete story in this week's issue of the Springfield Advance-Press.