HighIQ - while I stand by my previous advice to let it go and find positives to focus on, I also realize that sometimes it is easier to move on...
- once a situation has been acknowledged,
- a person feels understood (others "get it"),
- a person knows they are not alone in their experience (others feel the angst, having faced similar circumstances).

To that end, I found a few similar experiences online, posted over time:

1) Cheated out of Salutatorian (a decade ago) -
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100523113456AA84YUJ

2) Philippines Val/Sal controversy (2015) -
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/681185/qc-valedictorian-tells-krisel-mallari-top-award-not-for-you

3) Caught the valedictorian cheating (2013) -
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/i-caught-the-valedictorian-cheating-what-should-i-do/1506868
(IMO, some the advice offered is not appropriate: I do not agree with confronting the cheater.)

I'm hoping that these posts will also be a reminder to all (including parents, teachers, administrators, students seeking an advantage through cheating, and students providing an advantage to cheaters) that the behavior is unethical.