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After 18 years, it’s fair to say the regional competition for National History Day has come of age. It started with just three schools, but this year’s competition, held last week at UW-La Crosse, drew more than 60 projects from 275 students from 16 schools in 12 school districts.

“We saw some great work this year,” said Greg Wegner, a history professor at UW-La Crosse who has been a driving force behind the ever-expanding competition. “I just really marvel at the projects they came up with.”

The theme for this year’s competition was “Conflict and Compromise.” Students not only could pick practically any historical topic to report on as long as it fit the theme, but they also could choose from a wide array of methods of reporting, from written essays and exhibits to Web sites, performances and documentaries. And students could work as individuals or in teams.

This year, Onalaska Middle School joined in the competition for the first time, and that was in large part due to Wegner’s urging, said OMS Principal Roger Fruit.

“He’s an unbelievable advocate for that program,” Fruit said. “He’s been after me for a while to try to make it happen.”

This year, all eighth-graders at OMS went through the research needed to do a project, under the guidance of teachers Gregg Hilker and Derek Oppelt and librarian Karen Hammes. The students then were given the option of completing a project to enter in the National History Day competition.

“It’s such an absolutely awesome learning opportunity,” Fruit said. “Even the kids who didn’t do the culminating project learned a ton about how to do research.”

Two of the OMS projects finished among the top three in the regional, thus qualifying for the state competition May 3 in Madison.

Holmen Middle School, which has been requiring all eighth-graders to complete National History Day projects for seven years, had nine projects and 21 students qualify for state competition out of 28 HMS projects entered. Teacher Dayce McAndrews has spearheaded the National History Day program at HMS.

One HMS student, Marina Dvorak, won one of two special awards given at the competition that carried a $50 prize. Her report on “All-American Girls Baseball League: Conflicts-Compromises Made to Gain Respect for Women Athletes” won the Women’s History Award from the UW-L women’s studies department.

Last year, Holmen High School produced the region’s first national champion. Cody Haro, who did his project independently, won first place for his report on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of Americans who fought in the Spanish Civil War.

Haro, a senior this year, was awarded a $25,000 scholarship to the University of Minnesota for his efforts.

Wegner said he really hopes even more area schools — especially high schools — will get involved in the National History Day competition.

From McAndrews perspective, schools will be glad they got involved.

“National History Day is worth doing every year because of the tremendous benefits for students. We see incredible growth in many valuable skill areas, predominantly: research, critical and analytical thinking, organization and presentation,” she said. “They learn how to write a thesis statement, match their research to the thesis, and how to avoid plagiarism. Additionally, students come away from this project with a much greater understanding of how history applies to current events and why each event or person has an impact not just at the time but years, decades and even centuries later.

“It’s a project like no other,” she added. “As they say at the state and national levels, ‘It’s not just a day. It’s an adventure!’ How true.”

And the winners are ...

Winners and state qualifiers from National History Day, Western Wisconsin Regionals:

STATE QUALIFIERS

Junior Individual Performance: Ryan Tripp, Onalaska Middle School, “Conflicts and Compromises of the Cattle Drives”

Junior Group Performances: Marissa Bay, Haillea Wagner, Malorie Eimermann, Holmen Middle, “Junk Food;” Morgan Flury, Allie Luz, Jahnna Johnson, Holmen Middle, “Little Rock Nine.”

Junior Individual Documentaries: Isaac Prichett, Holmen Middle School, “The Navajo Code”

Junior Group Documentaries: Lexi Renk, Ashlee Altobelli, Kaitlin Nottestad, Holmen Middle, “Titanic;” Rachel Seebach, Rachel Sloan, Holmen Middle, “Iditarod: The 1925 Serum Run.”

Junior Web sites: Sam Smith, Chase Knudson, Holmen Middle School, “Cuban Missile Crisis;” Allison Jensen, Onalaska Middle School, “Martin Luther;” Graeme Sua, Austin Dahl, Chase Thomashide, Holmen Middle, “Brown vs. Board of Education.”

Junior Individual Projects (Exhibits): Eric Gregor, Holmen Middle School, “Enduring Conflict and Compromise: Jackie Robinson Shatters the Color Barrier”

Junior Group Projects (Exhibits): Alexis Krause, Katlyn Johnson, Myriam Zary, Holmen Middle School, “The Children of Auschwitz”

SPECIAL AWARDS

Women’s History Award, UW-L women, gender and sexuality studies department, junior division: Marina Dvorak, Holmen Middle School, “All-American Girls Baseball League: Conflicts-Compromises Made to Gain Respect for Women Athletes”

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