The winners of the first-ever regional History Day competition hosted by the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Department of History on Friday, Feb. 24, have been announced.
More than 250 students competed in categories ranging from individual paper to individual and group exhibit, website, documentary and performance.
Senior division group exhibit winners included Riley Brule, Summer Hammonds and Trenton Stewart, all of Simms High School, first place for “Temple Grandin ‘Mooves’ to the Top” and Mally Hammonds and Madison Beal, both of Simms High School, second place for “Elizabeth Eckford Stands Alone.”
Junior division individual website winners included Nathan Morriss of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “Jesse Owens: Gold Medal Winner and Racial Divide Breaker” and Evan Crawford of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “Jackie Robinson.”
Junior division group website winners included Lia Graham, Charli Hueter, Johnni Hueter and Chloe Pate, all of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “The White Rose Society” and Joseph Dupree, Connor Corbett, Macy Sloan, Gabby Reed and Joshua Lauterbach, all of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “The Jungle.”
Junior division paper winners included Katarina Jordan of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “Irena Sendler” and Fezeka Barnes of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “1968 Olympics.”
Junior division individual documentary winners included Emilee Herrington of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “Hebrews Free from Egypt” and Dashanae Criner of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “Jeanette Rankin.”
Junior division group documentary winners included Cayli Clack, Hollan Reed and Jane Rounds, all of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “Kathrine Switzer: The First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon” and Reagan Potts, Lily Sewell, Evelyn Patterson, Lainey Leible and Mary Claire Wright, all of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “Nelson Mandela: Taking a Stand.”
Junior division group performance winners included Jonathan Naples, Jade Laster and Salem Karr, all of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “The Astor Palace Riot” and Chad Haidet, Madison Stotts and Lydia Craig, all of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “Rosa Parks.”
Junior division individual exhibit winners were Kendra Sutton of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “Auschwitz: Not a POW Camp,” Kamryn Brown of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “The Greensboro Sit-ins” and Molly Laird of Texarkana Middle School, honorable mention for “Women’s Suffrage.”
Junior division group exhibit winners included Natalia Coco and Mary Jane Bray, both of Texarkana Middle School, first place for “The Red Tails” and Jackson Tye, Ben DePriest, Trey Lavender, Caden Miller and Zane Dodson, all of Texarkana Middle School, second place for “Jackie Robinson’s Stand Against the Color Barrier in Baseball.”
The top two finishers in each category will go on to the state competition. State winners go on to compete in the National History Day competition.
The judges were drawn from faculty and staff at A&M-Texarkana, students and community leaders, including Dr. Tom Cutrer, spouse of A&M-Texarkana President Dr. Emily Cutrer, and Velvet Hall Cool, Texarkana Museums System board president.
“I couldn’t be happier with our first-ever regional History Day competition,” said Dr. Craig Nakashian, associate professor of history and event director. “I think that the kids had a good time and were able to engage with history in a fun and creative way. Studying history is not about just knowing a bunch of facts, it’s about asking important questions about the past, researching evidence and presenting a case, and that is something that all of our participants did today.”
For more information, contact Dr. Nakashian at Craig.Nakashian@tamut.edu or visit nhd.org.
