2026 National History Day Contest
This year, 61 students represented Oklahoma at the National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. Competing alongside students from across the country, these young scholars demonstrated exceptional research, creativity, and communication skills while representing Oklahoma on the national stage, after advancing through regional and state competitions. We are especially proud to recognize the following students for receiving national honors.
Junior Division
Junior Group Documentary
Outstanding Junior Entry
Steel, Tin, and Wire: Inventions That Revolutionized the Old West
Finnegan Hoover and Wyatt Bass
Rosary Catholic School, Oklahoma City
Teacher: Wendy Mounger
Junior Group Exhibit
Ninth Place
Title IX: Revolutionizing Girls’ Sports
Reese Davis and Hensley Estrada
Canton Elementary School, Canton
Teacher: Tiffany Estrada, Penny Heath
Junior Group Performance
Honorable Mention in their competition room
We Interrupt This Broadcast: Orson Welles and The War of the Worlds
Olivia Ross, Levi Brixey, and Daydree Horne
Morrison Junior High, Stillwater
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Junior Individual Exhibit
Third Place
Out Of The Dust: How Earth’s Revolt Led To Conservation Reforms
Emberly Thompson
Canton Elementary School, Canton
Teacher: Penny Heath
Junior Individual Documentary
Sixth Place
Carbolic Acid and the Invisible Enemy: Joseph Lister’s War on Infection
Emma Mourer
Morrison Junior High, Morrison
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Junior Individual Performance
First Place
She Would Not Be Silent: Kate Barnard and the Cost of Reform
Lexi Kruse
Morrison Junior High, Morrison
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Senior Division
Senior Group Exhibit
Second Place
From Crisis To Care: The Orphan Trains and America’s Child Welfare Reform
Mackenzie Day and Aubree Taylor
Canton High School, Canton
Teacher: Penny Heath
Award: Selected for showcase at the Smithsonian American History Museum
The Price of Fame
Kaia Moore and Halle Haywood
Alice Robertson Junior High School, Muskogee
Teacher: Oscar Flores
Senior Group Documentary
Outstanding Senior Entry
The Revolution of Modernized Nuclear Missile Technology, the Reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Reform of Nuclear Protocols
Ian Bidelspach, Archer Fullerton, Beau Aichele, Julian Mendoza, and Isaac Ringsmuth
Stillwater Junior High School, Stillwater
Teacher: Jonas Burns, Melissa Sutton
Senior Group Performance
Sixth Place
The Molly Maguires: Revolution in the Pennsylvania Coal Fields
Kyler Haworth, Chase Dowell, and Liam Ross
Canton High School, Canton
Teacher: Penny Heath
Senior Individual Documentary
Award: Selected for the showcase at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History
Reaction, Revolution, and Reform in Hip Hop
Josiah Haley
Mingo Valley Christian School, Tulsa
Teacher: Rachel Keeney
Honorable Mention in their competition room
Telling Our Own Stories: Indigenous Voices and the Fight for Authentic Representation
Taleah Williams
Morrison High School, Morrison
Teacher: Patty Sanders
Senior Individual Exhibit
Special Prize: Captain Ken Coskey Naval History Prize Open to United States or Global Topics, and Honorable Mention in their competition room
Revolution in the Ranks: The Port Chicago Disaster and the Reaction that Reformed Naval Policy
Hannah Hoffman
Canton High School, Canton
Teacher: Penny Heath
Senior Individual Website
Honorable Mention in their competition room
Challenging Assumed Consent: Laura X’s Revolutionary Idea, Society’s Reaction, and America’s Reform
Emily Woodring
Morrison High School, Morrison
Teacher: Patty Sanders
