(Peru, Neb.) Fourteen area high school students took top honors at Peru State College’s (PSC) 27th Annual District History Day Contest recently, each earning $500 “Tested for Excellence” tuition scholarships to PSC. This year’s theme for the competition was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”

There were 333 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, Humboldt, Lourdes Central Catholic Middle School (Nebraska City), Nebraska City Middle School and Auburn Middle School.

History Day contestants presented their work in five different modes, including paper, performance, documentary, exhibit or Website. 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 16. The national competition will be held at the University of Maryland June 12-16.

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, Nebraska City Museum Association, and Mayhew Cabin.  This was also the first year for a special award offered by the Nemaha Valley Museum Association.  The first place winner in both the Junior and Senior Individual Exhibit category received a $50 check. 

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

Senior Group Exhibit

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1st Place: Brooke McCoy and Zack Scott – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School

Little Boy and Fatman go to Japan

2nd Place: Danielle Palensky and Lauren Sand – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School

What Really Sunk the Titanic

3rd Place: Chelsea Borrenpohl, Anna Kuhl and Christine Wellensiek – Johnson County Central High School

Who is…Jane Roe?

Senior Individual Exhibit

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1st Place: Nicole Carbajal – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Sowing the State of Nebraska

2nd Place: Brandie Westhart – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Taking Our Plot in History: The Homestead Act of 1862

3rd Place: Micah Spruth-Janssen – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Journey Out of Apartheid

Senior Group Documentary

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1st Place: Julia Oestmann and Erin Bohling – Johnson-Brock Public School

Nuclear Nebraska

2nd Place: Grace Sterup, Florian Sprang and Scott Johnson – Johnson County Central High School

The Reformation of Central Europe: The Potsdam Conference

3rd Place: Kam Foss and Daniel Jett - Johnson County Central High School

Rock n’ Roll and Juvenile Delinquency: Music’s Impact on Teenagers

Senior Individual Documentary

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

Civilian Conservation Corps: Help or Hindrance

2nd Place: Shawnee Johns – Johnson County Central High School

American Value: How Fast Food and Technology Has Changed the Way We Think

Senior Individual Historical Paper

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1st Place: Chelsea Westerfield – Johnson-Brock Public School

The Scopes Trial: An Evolving Issue

2nd Place: Shelby Strubel – Johnson County Central High School

A Decision that Changed America: The Dred Scott Decision

3rd Place: Kelsey Bohling – Johnson-Brock Public School

Hold the Polls: Woman’s Suffrage in Nebraska

Senior Group Performance

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1st Place: Chelsey Mowen, Shyann McRoberts, Alysia Yates and Emma Carr – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Woman’s Suffrage Play

2nd Place: Mitch Buck, Jacob Hinrichsen, Jesse Jewell and Cristian – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Public Schools

I Am A Person

Senior Individual Performance

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1st Place: Shawna Newman - Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Kansas Nebraska Act

Senior Group Interpretative Website

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1st Place: Shane Colby and Bryce Westenburg – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Defon 2: Cuban Missile Crisis

2nd Place: Paige Zastera and Kendall Hallstrom – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School

Segregation Through the Years

3rd Place: Aaron Zahn, Skyler Teten and Gus Husen – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School

AC vs DC

Senior Individual Interpretative Website

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

Nuclear Waste

2nd Place: Tyler Armknecht – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Prohibition

3rd Place: Nick Hennig – Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School

The Soviet-Afghan War: Soviet Russia’s “Vietnam”

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

Junior Group Exhibit

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1st Place: Jameson Bennett and Aaron Halvorsen – Syracuse Public School

Dropping the Atomic Bomb: The Right Decision?

2nd Place: Karley Kreifels, Katie O’Neil and Aliya Dreiling –Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

Home Front Scrap Drives: Morale Booster or Munitions Makers?

3rd Place: Katie Dillon and Cade Wolcott – Louisville Middle School

Diplomacy at the End of World War I

Junior Individual Exhibit

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1st Place: Patrick O’Neil – Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

A Calculated Risk: The Doolittle Raid

2nd Place:Cloey Allgood – Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

The Impact of Indian Boarding Schools

3rd Place: Scott Riley  – Johnson-Brock Public School

Cuban Missile Crisis: Debated Diplomacy

Junior Group Documentary

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1st Place: Ariel Stuhr and Sam Heng – Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

Riding Into Freedom

2nd Place: Kaylee Sarvis and Keely Algya – Plattsmouth Middle School

The Boston Tea Party

3rd Place: Megan Wright, Hallie Nichols and Allyson Reiman – Auburn Middle School

Little Rock Nine

Junior Individual Documentary

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1st Place: Loren Steinman – Nebraska City Middle School

Pursuit of Humanity: Standing Bear’s Plea for Justice

2nd Place: Riley Porter – Syracuse Public Schools

An American Revolutionary Debate: Loyalist vs. Patriot Chalmers vs. Paine

3rd Place: Christopher Tran – St. John The Baptist Elementary (Plattsmouth)

Dropping the Bomb

Junior Individual Historical Paper

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

Battle Over Water: The Debate of Building Lake McConaughy

2nd Place: Rebecca Harder – Syracuse Public Schools

The Effect of the First of the 1960 Presidential Debates

3rd Place: Kendra McGinnis – Nebraska City Middle School

The Cuban Missile Crisis: Two Minutes till Doomsday

Junior Group Performance

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1st Place: Mireya Ayala, Kelin Godoy, Adriana Estrada and Magali Martinez – Nebraska City Middle School

Women’s Rights Debated

2nd Place: Easton Banik, Noah Parker and Kylie Simonson –Nebraska City Middle School

Prohibition: The Driest Thirteen Years in America

Junior Group Interpretative Website

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1st Place: Noah Vasa and Noah Goodman - Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

A Three Cups of Tea Approach to Diplomacy

2nd Place: Mariah McWilliams and Sarah Antes - Syracuse Public Schools

Failure is Impossible – Susan B. Anthony

3rd Place: Kelsea Bayliss and Bobbijo Schutz - Syracuse Public Schools

Abortion: Moral Or Immoral

Junior Individual Interpretative Website

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1st Place: Courtland Wirtz – Syracuse Public Schools

Iran Hostage Crisis: When Diplomacy Fails

2nd Place: Timothy Joe – Nebraska City Middle School

The Development of the Roman Legal System

3rd Place: Victoria Welch - Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

All Are Created Equal

Other special awards include:

Arbor Lodge Award

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The award was given for the best individual entry with an on an environmental and/or Nebraska theme. It was given to a senior individual documentary historical paper entitled “Lest We Forget: The Omaha Race Riots” by Amzie Dunekacke of Johnson-Brock Public Schools.  Her teachers are Lori Broady and Scott Versch.

Nebraska City Museum Association Award

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Patrick O’Neil – Lourdes Central Catholic, Nebraska City

The award was presented for the best use of oral history as a research tool by an individual or group. O’Neil’s individual exhibit was titled A Calculated Risk: Doolittle Raid. His teacher is Cathy Thomas.

Peru Historical Foundation Award

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Julie Oestmann and Erin Bohling – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

The award is presented for the best entry, individual or group, focusing on a Southeast Nebraska  historical event/person in Nebraska. The group’s exhibit was titled Nuclear Nebraska. Their teachers are Lori Broady and Scott Versch

Mayhew Cabin Award

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Josie Ritzman and Mariah Glynn – Plattsmouth Middle School

The award is presented for the best entry on an Underground Railroad or African American topic.  The group’s exhibit was titled, Harriet Tubman. Their teacher is Tracey Sarvis.

Nemaha Valley Museum

This was a new award and was given to the 1st place student in both the Junior and Senior Individual Exhibit categories

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1st place in Senior Individual Exhibit was Nicole Carbajal – Johnson-Brock Public Schools

Sowing the State of Nebraska

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1st place in Junior Individual Exhibit was Patrick O’Neil – Lourdes Central Middle School Nebraska City

A Calculated Risk: The Doolittle Raid