FORT WAYNE — The Indiana Historical Society announced 46 students from Edgewood Middle School, Lakeview Middle School and Warsaw Community High School were among the finalists of the National History Day in Indiana northeast region contest at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne.

Approximately 260 students took part in the contest on Saturday, Feb. 16, with all finalists advancing to the NHDI state contest on Saturday, April 13, at the University of Indianapolis.

In the Junior Group Exhibit, finalists included Daniela Islas and Sarah Morgan of Edgewood for “Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the Seneca Falls Convention;” Morgan Howett and Lia Brandt of Edgewood for “The Space Race;” Madelynn Allebach, Elizabeth Osborn and Rosemary Kerr of Lakeview for “Genghis Kahn: Triumphant Unifier;” Hannah Bradford, Grace Friedberg and Madison Strunk of Lakeview for “Japanese Internment Camps: Our Homeland Tragedy;” Hailey Booher and Ellyse Greer of Lakeview for “The Tragedy of McCarthyism;” Aidan Bowell, Blake Schnackenberg and Nehemiah Wright of Lakeview for “Triumph! The WWII Paratroopers Airborne Division Prevails;” Cordelia Grandon and Peyton Williams of Edgewood for “The Donner Tragedy;” and Olivia Gabrich, Chloe Laird, Brea Thompson and Savannah Schuman of Edgewood for “The Triumphant Statehouse.”

In the Junior Individual Exhibit, finalists included Alli Gudeman of Edgewood for “The Story of Anne Frank;” Alyssa Swanson of Edgewood for “The Draft Lottery of 1969;” and Raquel Brouwer of Lakeview for “Triumph Out of Darkness: The Legacy of Louis Braille.” 

In the Junior Group Performance, finalists included Keller Bailey, Ryun Hoffert, Jason Benyousky, Robinson Hoffert and Finn Bailey of Edgewood for “The Freedom Riders of 1961: Makers of Good Trouble;” Edward Robison, Noah Knepp and Phoenix Klein of Lakeview for “Welcome Back to D-Day;” Joel Montoya, Jayla Barhydt and Kyra Krichbaum of Lakeview for “Martin Luther: The Triumph of the Protestant Reformation.”

Finalists for Junior Group Website included Zoe Bergan and Katie McKibbin of Edgewood for “American Eagle Flight 4184;” McKale Hagg and Lucas Patterson of Edgewood for “Marie Curie: Triumph and Tragedy;” and Keely Roe and Abby Stapleton of Edgewood for “Sending Math to the Moon.”

Finalists in Junior Individual Website included Michael Shilling of Edgewood for “The Berlin Airlift; America’s Finest Airlift;” and Milana Whitaker of Edgewood for “The Tragic Life of Cole Porter.”

Junior Paper finalists included Caleb Smith of Edgewood for “The Education Reformation of the Sixteenth Century;” and Ethan Betances of Edgewood for “Long Live Liberty: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Declaration of Independence.”

Senior Individual Exhibit finalists included Rachel Doyle of Warsaw Community High School for “Doctor Jonas Salk and the Triumph of the Polio Vaccine.”

NHDI is a yearlong program dedicated to enhancing history education in Indiana’s schools. Students in grades four through 12 explore a historical subject and then use their research to create a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website. To reach the state contest, students must qualify at one of six regional contests around Indiana — with the northeast region contest being the first of 2019.