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MARYLAND – June 18, 2026 -- Four California entries receive top honors at the 52nd Annual National History Day Contest held at the University of Maryland College Park Campus in the Washington, D.C. area June 14-18. In addition, twelve California entries were named finalists.

Nearly 2,600 students from across the United States and overseas participated in the contest. $150,000 in scholarships are awarded at the awards ceremony, and approximately 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $5,000 for superior work in a particular category of judging.

National Contest - Team California Results

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS - MEDALISTS
The following entries were recognized as overall 1st - 3rd place winners of NHD.

1st Place – Senior Individual Exhibit: Yesha Gupta
Northwood High School, Orange County. Teacher – Deanna Myers
Title: The Day Iceland Stood Still: From National Reaction to Global Revolution and Reform

2nd Place – Junior Group Website: Anita Ma, Honbria Hung, & Quan Lo
Temple (Roger W.) Intermediate School, Los Angeles County. Teachers – Chuck Diep & Minh Anderson
Title: Howling at Moloch: A Revolutionary Cry Against Postwar America

3rd Place – Junior Group Documentary: Andrew Terrence, Chase Belmont, Colton Schoales, Marion Paulson, & Savannah Gilbert
Alta Sierra Intermediate, Fresno County. Teacher – Debbie Hodge
Title: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Reform of American Finance

3rd Place – Senior Group Documentary: Hansika Kolli & Soina Kaur
Vista del Lago High School, Sacramento County. Teacher – Cole Cooper
Title: The COINTELPRO Files: A Hidden Dissonance of Democracy

CONTEST FINALIST
The following entries advanced to final round judging at the National Contest.

4th Place – Junior Individual Exhibit: Oliver Wiechmann
Sierra Vista Middle School, Orange County. Teacher – Lianne Linck
Title: Revolutionary Words: Jovita Idar’s Journalism, Reaction, and Struggle for Reform

4th Place – Senior Historical Paper: Shreyas Karnam
The Harker School, Santa Clara County. Teacher – Byron Stevens
Title: “We Are Rising”: Black American Classicists and the Late Nineteenth-Century Revolution in Greco-Roman Studies

4th Place – Senior Group Performance: Piper Allen, Karrie Rutowicz, Olivia Mergy, & Ethan Sandoval
Edison High School, Fresno County. Teacher – Gary Mrkaich
Title: 643-3844

4th Place – Senior Group Exhibit: Ellie Huynh & Emily Huynh
Fruitvale Junior High, Kern County. Teacher – Michelle Whieldon
Title: The Mann Act: A Living Document of Legal Reform

4th Place – Senior Individual Website: Chloe Boston
Van Nuys Senior High, Los Angeles County. Teacher – Aditi Mehta Doshi
Title: The Revolutionary Community in Sugar Hill, Los Angeles, and the Uneven Road to Fair Housing

6th Place – Senior Group Website: Aadhi Suresh, Carson Lv, & Eun Kwak
Northwood High School, Orange County. Teacher – Deanna Myers
Title: A Beep in the Sky, A Revolution Below: The Sputnik Crisis and the Reformation of American Education

7th Place – Junior Historical Paper: Santiago Joseph
Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside County. Teacher – Ivan Raspudic
Title: The Tulsa Massacre: History Made, Destroyed, and Retold

7th Place – Junior Individual Performance: Aria Yatavelli
Sierra Vista Middle School, Orange County. Teacher – Lianne Linck
Title: Threads of Change: Revolution of the Loom, Reaction of the Workers, Reform in Code

8th Place – Junior Individual Performance: Akshita Saravana
Corona Fundamental Intermediate, Riverside County. Teacher – Sara Hester
Title: Satyagraha: The Non-Violent Revolution, from Gandhi’s Hands to King’s Dream

8th Place – Senior Group Exhibit: Chelsea Guerrero, Ethan Lundberg, & Joselyn Lopez
Canyon Springs High School, Riverside County. Teachers – Aurelio Cortez & Ana Pantoja
Title: Uncle Tom’s Cabin: A Societal Revolution, National Reactions, and a War for Reform

9th Place – Junior Group Website: Audrey Rademaker & Maris Page
Francis Parker School, San Diego County. Teacher – Mary Ong-Dean
Title: From War to Wellness: How the Crimean War Lit the Way for Modern Nursing

10th Place – Senior Individual Documentary: Tyler Sterry
Aragon High School, San Mateo County. Teacher – David Sterry
Title: Prions, Mad Cow Disease, and the Cost of Certainty

HONORABLE MENTION
Received 2nd place in preliminary judging room.

Honorable Mention – Junior Historical Paper: Andrew Lee
South Pointe Middle School, Los Angeles County. Teacher – Eric Shin
Title: Defying Empire: Korea’s Fight for Freedom

Honorable Mention – Junior Individual Documentary: Joy Yan-Li
Venado Middle School, Orange County. Teacher – Hector Gamboa
Title: From Revolution to Reform: Action to Reaction in the Third World Liberation Front

Honorable Mention – Junior Individual Website: Abigail Shen
Solana Ranch Elementary, San Diego County. Teacher – Jordan Einbinder
Title: Irish Crochet Lace: A Revolutionary Textile for a Better Life

Honorable Mention – Senior Historical Paper: Adam Fibrich
The College Preparatory School, Alameda County. Teacher – Enver Casimir
Title: The San Francisco Freeway Revolt: The Seeds of Revolution in Urban Planning

Honorable Mention – Senior Individual Performance: Monte DuVal
Francis Parker School, San Diego County. Teachers – Mary Ong-Dean & Joseph Kurz
Title: Maîtres Chez Nous: The Quiet Revolution and the Remaking of Quebec’s Provincial Society and Identity

Honorable Mention – Senior Individual Exhibit: Lucy Dolezal
Monte Vista High School, Contra Costa County. Teacher – Stephen Brooks
Title: Griswold v. Connecticut: A Reaction to Resistance, a Precedent for Reforms, and the Foundation of the Equality Revolution

OUTSTANDING IN STATE

Junior Individual Performance: Aria Yatavelli
Sierra Vista Middle School, Orange County. Teacher – Lianne Linck
Title: Threads of Change: Revolution of the Loom, Reaction of the Workers, Reform in Code

Senior Individual Documentary: Nicholas Soo
Irvine High School, Orange County. Teacher – Jennifer Harrington
Title: Education Liberation: How the Black Panther Party's Oakland Community School Revolutionized Education for Marginalized Students

NATIONAL HISTORY ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP

Yesha Gupta
Northwood High School, Orange County. Teacher – Deanna Myers
Title: The Day Iceland Stood Still: From National Reaction to Global Revolution and Reform

Congratulations to all of Team California’s National History Day qualifiers on an outstanding showing at this year’s National Contest!