KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney hosted a Nebraska National History Day district contest Wednesday, with 140 middle and high school students competing.
Ainsworth, Arapahoe, Loup City, Loup County, McCook, Ord and Rock County participated in the event – one of seven district contests across the state.
Guided by this year’s theme – “Rights and Responsibilities in History” – students presented individual and group projects in categories such as performance, documentary film, interpretive website, research paper and poster exhibit. Entries were judged by UNK faculty and staff and other local experts.
District contest winners advance to the state competition scheduled for April 12 at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. From there, students can qualify for the National History Day contest set for June 8-12 at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Established in 1985, Nebraska National History Day is a nonprofit educational program that encourages middle and high school students to conduct original research on historical topics. It’s affiliated with the National History Day contest, which started in 1974.
Kearney District Contest winners are:
Junior Division (middle schoolers)
Group Performance
First place – Andrew Arens and Tristan Sedlacek of Ainsworth, “Tinker v. Des Moines”
Second place – Kailey Cook and Emersyn Hasenohr of Ainsworth, “The Universal Declaration of Rights”
Third place – Easton Strand, Jamison TenBensel, Cody Einspahr and Gage Andrews of Arapahoe, “Rosa Parks’ Impact on Rights and Responsibilities in America”
Individual Performance
First place – Bria Kowalski of Loup City, “The Legacy of Susan B. Anthony”
Group Exhibit
First place – Quintan Samples and Dalton Stancyzk of Loup City, “WWII POWs in America”
Second place – Teylor Goc and Gracie Treffer of Loup City, “The Kansas-Nebraska Act”
Third place – Ozzy Cintron and Lexi Wooden of Loup City, “The Selective Service Act”
Alternate – Chayden Sekutera and Logan Jorgensen of Loup City, “Understanding Hunting Rights and Responsibilities”
Individual Exhibit
First place – Adeline Hladky of Ainsworth, “The Right to Safe Food”
Second place – Maxon Wiese of Ord, “The Boston Molasses Flood: A Tragedy That Was Anything But Sweet”
Third place – Allyson Starr of Loup County, “Patsy Matsu Mink”
Group Documentary
First place – Tenley Panowicz and Leah Welch of Loup City, “The Farm Security Act”
Second place – Dylan Rademacher and Hadley Rademacher of Loup City, “The Kincaid Act of 1904”
Third place – Jaxyn Evans and Caden Rowe of McCook, “Operation Barbarossa: Betrayal and Downfall”
Individual Documentary
First place – Blake Hansmeyer of Ainsworth, “Mendez v. Westminster”
Second place – Caitlyn Blake of Rock County, “Sequoyah’s Syllabary”
Group Website
First place – Ashlyn Gappa and Taelyn Kuszak of Loup City, “Standing Bear: Fight for Native American Rights”
Second place – Treven Setlik and Braxton Gallaway of Loup City, “Desmond Doss”
Third place – Tristan Erasmus and Sutton Lambrecht of Loup City, “Great Smoky Mountains National Park”
Research Paper
First place – Copper Trail of McCook, “Sweatshops”
Senior Division (high schoolers)
Group Performance
First place – Chian Santos, Anastasia Titman and Michloe Cintron of Loup City, “MLK Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott”
Group Exhibit
First place – Lilly Baker and Aiden Sklenar of Loup City, “The Little Rock Nine”
Second place – Thaddeus Harris and Jeslyn Dvorak of Loup City, “Parental Rights vs. Artist’s Rights”
Third place – Dutch Miller and Lucas Spotanski of Loup City, “The Rights and Responsibilities of the Boston Tea Party”
Alternate – Jaelynn Blackburn and Sierra Slagle of Loup County, “Dr. E. Donnall Thomas”
Individual Exhibit
First place – Taralee Baker of Loup City, “The 19th Amendment”
Second place – Yael Estrada of Loup County, “Loving v. Virginia”
Third place – Penelope Cintron of Loup City, “Indian Removal Act”
Alternate – Heidi Mead of Loup City, “Sojourner Truth”
Group Documentary
First place – Jaymeson Gappa and Wyatt Stieb of Loup City, “Individual Rights and a Nation’s Responsibility: The Story of Ben Kuroki”
Individual Documentary
First place – Morgan Rademacher of Loup City, “The Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools”
Second place – Raegan Skibinski of Loup City, “Gloria Steinem: The Responsible Fight for Women’s Rights”
Third place – Apollo Harris of Loup City, “The Montgomery Bus Boycott”
Group Website
First place – Kaily Kurtzhals and Grace Augustyn of Loup City, “The Legacy of Katherine Johnson”
Second place – Nico Castro, Markus Bester and Keghan Schweiger of Loup City, “The Scopes Trial”
Individual Website
First place – Paige Syancyzk of Loup City, “Six Triple Eight: U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion”
Second place – Madison Pazdernik of Loup City, “Elvis Presley: Rights and Responsibilities of Rock n’ Roll”
Research Paper
First place – Claira Morgan of Loup County, “Percy Hobart”
Second place – Angel Estrada of Loup County, “The Emancipation Proclamation”
Third place – Henry Sortum of Loup County, “The Freedom Riders”
