(Peru, Neb.) Fourteen area high school students took top honors at Peru State College’s (PSC) 26th Annual District History Day Contest recently, each earning $500 “Tested for Excellence” tuition scholarships to PSC. This year’s theme for the competition was Innovation in History: Impact and Change.

Around 260 students from 11 area school districts participated in the competition, including Conestoga Junior/Senior High School, Louisville Middle School, Saint John the Baptist School (Plattsmouth), Plattsmouth Middle School, Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Middle/High Schools, Johnson-Brock Public Schools, Johnson County Central High School, Pine Hill Christian School, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer - Unified School District #7, Lourdes Central Catholic Middle School (Nebraska City) and Nebraska City Middle School.

History Day contestants presented their work in five different modes, including paper, performance, documentary, exhibit or Web site. Individuals and groups of two to five students competed. The top three winners in each entry category are eligible for the statewide contest, which will be held at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln on April 17. The national competition will be held at the University of Maryland June 13-17.

First-place winners in each of the senior division categories received $500 "Tested for Excellence" tuition scholarships to PSC. Special awards were also presented by the Peru Historical Foundation, Arbor Lodge and Nebraska City Museum Association.

Winners in the senior division (grades 9-12) include:

Senior Individual Exhibit

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1st Place: Nick Behrends – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Windmills Innovation That Won the West

2nd Place: Stephanie Teten – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Frank Zybach's Center Pivot Brings Rain to the Plains

3rd Place: Brandie Westhart – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Baltimore Ohio Railroad

 

Senior Group Exhibit

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1st Place: Brianna Oltman and Reanna Grove – Syracuse High School

Double Helix

2nd Place: Ashleigh Teten and Shane Keslar – Syracuse High School

Salk & Sabin: Polio Vaccine

3rd Place: Hanna Alberts, Shay Nickels and Ryan Carr – Johnson-Brock Public School

Pick Up the Phone, The Future Is Calling

Senior Group Performance

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1st Place: Austin Penfield, Marie-Louise Hansen, Elijah Chase and Michelle Davidson –
Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Birmingham Children's March

Senior Individual Performance

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1st Place: Chelsey Mowen - Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Holocaust - Medical Experiments

 

Senior Group Documentary

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1st Place: Morgan Yates, Ashley Andersen and Chelsea Westerfield – Johnson-Brock Public School

Penicillin the Miracle Drug

2nd Place: Adam Aldana, Wade Bartels and Logan Dorsey – Johnson County Central High School

The Transcontinental Railroad

3rd Place: Brittany Wolken, Kassie Guenther and Ellen Mannschreck - Johnson County Central High School

Ethanol: Fueling the World

 

Senior Individual Documentary

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1st Place: Elizabeth Rice – Conestoga Junior/Senior High School

Hybrid Corn: Helping to Feed the World

2nd Place: Phillip Brown – Pine Hill Christian School (Nehawka)

Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Transforming the Road

 

Senior Individual Historical Paper

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1st Place: Taylor Hamm – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Imprinting the Future One Letter at a Time

2nd Place:Ryan Krueger – Syracuse High School

Innovations of Thermal Optics and Night Vision

Senior Interpretative Web Site

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1st Place: Kyler Jones – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Puff the Magic Dragon

2nd Place: Tyler Penfield and Neshay Nichols – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Chewing Gum

3rd Place: Jamie Thoms and Brittany Siepelmeier - Syracuse High School

Surgical Hypnosis: Improving Anesthesia

Winners in the junior division (grades 6-8) include:

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st Place: Jake Stehlik – Nebraska City Middle School

Lego: Building Blocks of Education

2nd Place:Nicole Carbajal – Johnson-Brock Public School

Weather Radar in the Midwest

3rd Place:Jessica Schomerus – Nebraska City Middle School

Braille: The Language of Raised Dots

 

Junior Group Exhibit

1st Place: Jemma Romine and Anna Rippe - Syracuse High School

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

2nd Place: MaKayla Parriott, Neil Bock and Ellen Rice – Conestoga Junior/Senior High School

Interstate System: The Roads That Changed America

3rd Place: Tony Heng and Nick Whitten – Nebraska City Lourdes Middle School

"Watson, come here." The History of the Telephone

 

Junior Individual Documentary

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1st Place: Luke Stehlik – Nebraska City Middle School

The Evolution of Camouflage and Its Effect on Warfare

2nd Place: Loren Steinman – Nebraska City Middle School

The Gatling Gun: A Precursor to Modern Weaponry

3rd Place: Sandy Rhoades – St. John The Baptist Elementary (Plattsmouth)

Penicillin: The Life Saving Antibiotic

 

Junior Group Performance

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1st Place: Samantha Lane, Brenden DeBrie, Becca Dillon and Megan Knott - Louisville Middle School

DNA

2nd Place: Jameson DeFreece, Mitch Gude, Kylan McGinnis, Aaron Miller and Brock Wichman – Nebraska City Lourdes Middle School

1-800-Innovation

Junior Group Documentary

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1st Place: Claire Uhe and Emily Rohlff – Conestoga Junior/Senior High School

Polio Vaccine: The Shot Felt Around the World

2nd Place: Erin Bohling and Julia Oestmann – Johnson-Brock Public School

Duct Tape Through the Decades

3rd Place: Brianna York, Bret Belter and Jack Winkler – Louisville Middle School

The History of Coca-Cola

 

Junior Individual Historical Paper

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1st Place: Samantha Teten – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

The Wheat That Saved a Billion Lives

2nd Place: Amzie Dunekacke - Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Sonar and What It Means to the Future of Marine Mammals

3rd Place: Seth Anderson – Nebraska City Middle School

The Internet Browser: Clicking Worlds Open For the Average American

 

Junior Interpretative Website

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1st Place: Paige Kapperman and Emily Harsin - Syracuse Middle School

Washing Machine

2nd Place: Lindsey Bjork and Haley Harsin - Syracuse Middle School

Refrigeration: How Cool Is That?

3rd Place: Shelby Burr and Mikayla Kreifels - Syracuse Middle School

Sewing Machine Through the Years

 

Other special awards include:

Arbor Lodge Award

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Elizabeth Rice – Conestoga High School

The award was given for the best individual entry with an environmental and/or Nebraska theme. Rice’s senior individual documentary was titled Hybrid Corn: Helping to Feed the World.

Nebraska City Museum Association Award

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Chelsey Mowen – Johnson-Brock High School

The award is presented for the best use of oral history interviews by an individual or group. Mowen’s individual performance was titled Holocaust – Medical Experiments.

Peru Historical Foundation Award

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Jessa Swanson and Megan McLey - Syracuse High School

The award is presented for the best entry, individual or group, focusing on an historical event/person in Nebraska. The group’s exhibit was titled Vice Grips.