Students Advance To State History Day Competition

LA PLATA, Md. (March 12, 2009)—More than 370 students competed in the 2009 Charles County History Day competition held March 6-7 at La Plata High School. First and second place category winners advance to the state competition scheduled for April 25, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The following students placed at the Charles County History Day competition.

Winners in the Individual Documentary, junior division, are:

-- Ryan Burton, first place, Milton M. Somers Middle School, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.: Actions and Legacy;

-- Grant Homan, second place, Piccowaxen Middle School, A Life Saving Gift Dr. Charles Drew: Blood Bank Innovator;

-- Andre Burton, third place, Somers, Rachel Carson: Environmentalist, Pioneer, Activist;

-- Lyndi Earnshaw, fourth place, Piccowaxen, The Legacy of Jesse L. Starkey and His Impact on Charles County Schools; and

-- Calum Tuttle, fifth place, Somers, Zheng He: What Could Have Been.

Winners in the Individual Documentary, senior division, are:

-- Kristi Milman, first place, North Point High School, Do You Know the Muppet Man? The Legacy of Jim Henson;

-- Mike Corrinne, second place, La Plata High School, Robert E. Lee;

-- Angelica Trevizo, third place, Westlake High School, Pope John Paul II: Life & Legacy; and

-- Mariah Gross, fourth place, Thomas Stone High School, Elizabeth Blackwell.

Winners in the Group Documentary, junior division, are:

-- Chris Jones, Pat Jones and Thomas Jones; first place, John Hanson Middle School, The Individual in History: Legacy of Dr. Paul MacCready, Jr.;

-- Annie Russell and Pavneet Sandhu; second place, Piccowaxen, Margaret Brent;

-- Kylie Vaccaro, Sarah Watson and Miranda Wood; third place, Hanson, The First American Idol: Elvis Aaron Presley;

-- Tia Grant and Desirai Taylor; fourth place, Mattawoman Middle School, Elizabeth Blackwell: Never Gave Up; and

-- Ian Jenkins and Karl Nan; fifth place, St. Mary Star of the Sea, Henry Ford: What Was His Impact on WWII?

Winners in the Group Documentary, senior division, are:

-- Krystle Canare and Danielle Ravancho; first place, Westlake, Wright Brothers: The Legacy of Flight; and

-- Seth Nagle and Julieanne Papanicolas; second place, La Plata, An Outstanding Individual: Bob Dylan.

Winners in the Individual Exhibit, junior division, are:

-- Jonah Gillens, first place, Hanson, Garrett A. Morgan: A Legacy in History;

-- Allison Drazba, second place, Somers, Lyndon Baines Johnson: Inspiring A Nation Towards Greatness;

-- Lance Heckathorn, third place, General Smallwood Middle School, What is Pele's Legacy in the United States and the Field of Soccer?;

-- Jeffrey Bryant, fourth place, Piccowaxen, The Henry Ford Story; and

-- Stephanie McCarter-Dadzie, fifth place, St. Mary Star of the Sea, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Winners in the Individual Exhibit, senior division, are:

-- Brandyn Butler, first place, Westlake, How J. Robert Oppenheimer's Creation of the Atom Bomb Changed the World Forever;

-- Dominic Barrasso, second place, Stone, Sir Francis Drake: Hero or Pirate;

-- Alexis Gayon, third place, North Point High School, How Has Thomas Edison's Invention of Electricity Affected Americans' Lives?;

-- Lauren Bertagnolli, fourth place, North Point, Tadamichi Kuribayashi; and

-- Ryan Cleaveland, fifth place, North Point, Bill Gates.

Winners in the Group Exhibit, junior division, are:

-- Keegan Barefoot and Nick Stottlemyer; first place, Piccowaxen, Dr. Mudd: Innocent or Guilty;

-- Caleb Craft and Kevin Craft; second place, Hanson, Richard Gatling: Compassionate Inventor or Opportunist?;

-- Marisa Booth and Mariana Bromber; third place, St. Peter's, Nikola Tesla: Creator of the Future;

-- Emily Bailey and Sammi Sewall; fourth place, St. Mary's Bryantown, Louis Braille: A Touch of Genius; and

-- Jade Jamison and Taylor Johnson; fifth place, Mattawoman, Ruby Bridges: The Fight for Desegregation.

Winners in the Group Exhibit, senior division, are:

-- Nina Yun and Krystal Yhap; third place, North Point, Jane Addams: Peace, Freedom, and the Welfare of Mankind; and

-- Samantha Hayden, Ethan Mastin and Rachel Pineda; fourth place, La Plata, Jimi Hendrix: The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

Winners in the Historical Paper, junior division, are:

-- Jessica Kirkham, first place, Theodore G. Davis Middle School, Christopher Columbus: Man of Competence, Man of Courage, Man of God;

-- Ari Amowitz, second place, Hanson, Sacagawea: A Legacy of Life or Death?;

-- Garrett Lundegard, third place, Somers, Hannibal Barca: The Father of Strategy;

-- Sabrina Martin, fourth place, Hanson, Joseph Smith, Jr.: A Religious Legend; and

-- Mallory Jackson, fifth place, Mattawoman, Agrippina Vaganova: Student, Teacher, Dancer.

Winners in the Historical Paper, senior division, are:

-- Beau Schonberg, first place, Westlake, Genghis Khan: His Legacy in History;

-- Ronnie Ibrahim, second place, Westlake, Augustus Caesar;

-- Samuel Hoy, third place, North Point, Was Eleanor of Aquitaine the Hillary Clinton of Her Time?;

-- Rachel Zaccarelli, fourth place, Westlake, Roe vs. Wade: The Real Jane Roe and the Unsettling Controversy of Abortion; and

-- Amy Rappole, fifth place, Westlake, Calvin and Calvinism.

Winners in the Individual Performance, senior division, are:

-- Elizabeth Wilson, first place, Maurice J. McDonough High School, Louisa May Alcott;

-- Jessica Youmans, second place, McDonough, Corrie Ten Boom;

-- Amy Shaw, third place, McDonough, Elizabeth Blackwell;

-- Marissa Loya, fourth place, McDonough, Gloria Steinem: Feminist, A Not So Dirty Word; and

-- Keeley Raths, fifth place, McDonough, Life of Audrey Hepburn.

Winners in the Group Performance, junior division, are:

-- Sarah Buffington and Samantha Pontorno; first place, Hanson, Roe Now Says, "No": Norma McCorvey;

-- Monica Garza and Annalee Morin; second place, Hanson, Pocahontas: Connection Between Two Worlds; and

-- Dillon Kercher and Jonathan Yee; third place, Piccowaxen, The Story of Benjamin Franklin.

Winners in the Individual and Group Web page category:

-- Jessica Nenno, first place, Mattawoman, Milton Hershey: The Chocolate King;

-- Suzy Cahn, second place, Hanson, Breaking the Silence With "Silent Spring";

-- Bradley Johns, third place, Piccowaxen, Ray Kroc;

-- Kiersten Rawson; fourth place, Mattawoman, Robert Stafford; and

-- Jamie Pineda, fifth place, Mattawoman, Martha Graham: Pioneer of Modern Dance.

The following students received special awards:

-- Grant Homan, Piccowaxen, A Life Saving Gift - Dr. Charles Drew, African-American Heritage Society of Charles County award;

-- Nathan Radtke, Somers, Raphael Semmes: The Naval Genius From Nanjemoy, award from the Charles County Commissioners;

-- Kyra Cooke, Mattawoman, Marian Anderson, award from the Charles County Commission for Women;

-- Bethany Burks, Piccowaxen, George Calvert: 1st Lord Baltimore and Founder of Maryland, award from the Charles County Genealogical Society;

-- Lyndi Earnshaw, Piccowaxen, The Legacy of Jesse L. Starkey and his Impact on Charles County Schools, the Charles County Heritage Commission award;

-- John Radtke, Somers, The Role of Father Andrew White in the Founding of the Maryland Colony, award from the Charles County Historic Trust;

-- Azeezat Adeleke, Davis, For Freedom, For Truth, and For Honor, award from the Friendship House Foundation;

-- Ronnie Ibrahim, Westlake, Augustus Caesar, award from the Friendship House Foundation;

-- Andre Burton, Somers, Rachel Carson: Environmentalist, Pioneer, Activist, Governor William Smallwood Chapter, U.S. Daughters of 1812 award;

-- Ryan Burton, Somers, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.: Actions and Legacy, Historical Society of Charles County award;

-- Kevin Sherlock, Davis, Jim McKay and the Agony of the Munich Massacre (1972) "They're All Gone," Historical Society of Charles County award;

-- Sarah Buffington and Samantha Pontorno; Hanson, Roe Now Says, "No": Norma McCorvey, Historical Society of Charles County award;

-- Hope Steffens, Somers, Dietrich Steffens: A Soldiers Story, Historical Society of Charles County award;

-- Hunter Rolfs, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, Erwin Rommel: The Desert Fox, Historical Society of Charles County award;

-- Suzy Cahn, Hanson, Breaking the Silence with "Silent Spring", Port Tobacco Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution award;

-- Susan Duncan, Davis, Tchaikovsky, Port Tobacco Players award;

-- Jessica Youmans, McDonough, Corrie Ten Boom, Reta Kay Hoke award;

-- Allison Drazba, Somers, Lyndon Baines Johnson: "Inspiring A Nation Toward Greatness," Reta Kay Hoke award;

-- Annie Russell and Pavneet Sandhu; Piccowaxen, Margaret Brent, Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco award;

-- Raymond Austin Gore, Piccowaxen, James Madison: The Father of Our Constitution, Thomas Stone Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution award; and

-- Kenny Milman, Mattawoman, Thedore Roosevelt: The Conservationist, Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development award.
The following students received special awards from the Smallwood Foundation:

-- Aaron LeBeau, Matthew Henson Middle School, Napoleon Bonaparte: Hero or Villian;

-- Cheyney Manning, Emily Vaughn and Joanna Wimbush; Hanson, One Fish, Two Fish: Dr. Seuss;

-- Sarah Hummel, Davis, Writing from the Secret Annex: The Case of Anne Frank;

-- Jordan Ashley, Piccowaxen, Annie Oakley: Taking Aim for Women;

-- Angelica Trevizo, Westlake, Pope John Paul, II: Life and Legacy;

-- Beau Schonberg, Westlake, Genghis Khan: His Legacy in History; and

-- Nina Yun and Krystal Yhap; North Point, Jane Addams: Peace, Freedom, and the Welfare of Mankind.