(KLZA)-- Peru State College recently hosted its annual History Day District Competition. Six area schools and 154 students participated in the event.

Those schools attending and their instructors included: Lourdes Central Catholic - Beth Box and Wendi Buggi; St. John the Baptist - Toni Buckler; Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca - Sarah Burr; Johnson-Brock - Daniel Gossman and Mitchell Engelken; Falls City Middle School - Sharon Jeffries; and Auburn - Alexandra Graf.

History Day contestants presented their work in five categories, including paper, performance, documentary, exhibit, or website. Students chose topics that related to the National History Day Theme for 2025 - “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” To study rights and responsibilities in history, questions must be asked. These are two powerful forces in history, but one does not work without the other.

Dr. Jason Phillips, associate professor of history, directed the competition. Phillips extended a big thanks to all the individuals who volunteered as judges and gave special thanks to the following individuals for pitching in and helping to lead up to and the day of the event: Amy Mincer, Brenda Trail, Dr. Paul Hinrichs, Dr. Wendy Waugh, Caleb Kozeny - student director, Kohl Rutherford, Brandon Kristensen, Britany Lofton, and Jamie Barnett.

Senior division first place winners received a $500 tuition waiver from the Peru State College Foundation is they choose to attend the College. Congratulations to all of the winners.

The following were the Senior Division winners:

Senior Paper (winner, event title, and school)

1st - Brynn Casey, “Susan La Fleische Picotte,” Auburn

2nd - Gretchen Paschal, “Willa Cather,” Auburn

3rd - Noah Hanley, “Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery,” Auburn

Senior Individual Documentary

1st - Payton Reid, “Prohibition: An Era of Fire Fueled by Alcohol,” Auburn

Senior Group Website

1st - Avery Snodgrass, Ava Krause, and Delaney Stahl, Auburn

Senior Individual Exhibit

1st - Quinlan Porterfield, “Prohibition in Nebraska,” Auburn

2nd - Trevor McNeely, “Frontier Forts,” Auburn

Senior Group Exhibit

1st - Odessa Acton and David Sharp, “Ernie Chambers,” Auburn

2nd - Annie Benight, Esmeralda Guhde-Egger, and Lillian Morris, “Rosa Parks: Rights, Responsibilities, Resistance,” Johnson-Brock

3rd - Teagan Fowler and Gillian Hanna, “The Women- Suffrage Movement,” Auburn

4th - Ryan Hays, Camron Becker, Aydan Smith, Drayven Lamb, and Tayber Rademacher, “Omaha Race Riots of 1919,” Auburn

Junior Paper

1st - Nina Fulton, “Rheta Childe Dorr,” Lourdes Central Catholic

2nd - Lila Weldon, “Ruby Bridges,” Lourdes Central Catholic

3rd - Marcus Ensor, “Informed Consent,” Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca

Junior Individual Documentary

1st - Noah Metschke, “Welcome to ‘The Jungle:’ How Upton Sinclair Brought Neglected Rights and Responsibilities to Light,” Johnson-Brock

2nd - Cora Moody, “The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933,” Lourdes Central Catholic

3rd - Audry Scrivens, “Operation and Freedom: How Our Right of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness were Threatened by Terrorists,” Falls City Middle School

4th - Chase Miller, “Fact Check (The Responsibility of the Government During COVID-19),” Johnson-Brock

Junior Group Documentary

1st - Kaytlin Rhodd and Josslyn Bangert “How Susan B. Anthony Helped Women Obtain the Right to Vote and Brought Them to the Ballot,” Falls City

2nd - Chance Haare and Elliott Brommer, “Battling Paralysis: Defending and Eradicating Polio from the United States,” Johnson-Brock

3rd - Lillyann Schnitzer and Emilee Yost, “Proposition of the Future: The Origin of Arbor Day,” Lourdes Central Catholic

4th - Matthew Lorence and Ashton Carpenter, “Child Labor: A Greedy Man- Game,” St. John the Baptist

Junior Individual Website

1st - Elijah Diltz, “The Responsibilities of the Death Penalty: Did Furman Get His Justice?,” Falls City

Junior Individual Performance

1st - Ryder Brammier, “The Vietnam War: Tours of Duty,” Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca

2nd - Jasmine Cherney, “Children- Rights: The Story of Eleanor Roosevelt,” Johnson-Brock

Junior Group Performance

1st - Grant Martin, Augustin Bruggeman, Alec Dia, and Cyrus Monson, “Behind Closed Doors: The Truth about MK-Ultra and the Right to Information,” Lourdes Central Catholic

2nd - Quinlee Sayer and Addison Volker, “’You Have the Right to a Safe Workplace:’ The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970,” Johnson-Brock

3rd - Mia Benight, Marleigh Behrends, and Kendall Jeanneret, “The Salem Witch Trials and Dorcas Good- Persecution Towards Innocence,” Johnson-Brock4th - Emiri Siefkin, Tyleigh Miller, and Isley Brinkman, “Seneca Falls: A Call for Justice,” Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st - Gwen Ebmeier, “Title IX Impact on Girls’ Sports,” Lourdes Central Catholic

2nd - Alan Parde, ‘Orphan Train,’ Lourdes Central Catholic

3rd - Addison Kreifels, “Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog,” Lourdes Central Catholic

4th - Joel Bantz, “The Great Ruler of Egypt: King Tut,” Lourdes Central Catholic

Junior Group Exhibit

1st - Aubrey Higgins and Julie Mead, “Healthcare Rights and Ethical Limits,” Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca

2nd - James Chance and Ryan Miller, “Agent Orange,” Lourdes Central Catholic

3rd - Calvin Weninger and Brandon Beccard, “The Geneva Convention,” Lourdes Central Catholic

4th - Quinn O’Donnell and Celeste Martinez, “Rosa Parks,” Lourdes Central Catholic

Special Awards

The Dr. Sara B. Crook Award Winner

Nina Fulton, “Rheta Childe Dorr,” Lourdes Central Catholic

The Kregel Windmill Museum Award Winner

Craig Anthony, “Invention of the MacDon Draper,” Johnson-Brock

The top entries all had the opportunity to compete at the Nebraska State History Day Competition early this month.

Earning awards from the Peru State College competition were:

Junior Group Exhibit

2nd - Aubrey Higgins and June Mead - Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca