The American Heritage Center hosted the 2026 Wyoming History Day State Competition on Monday, April 20, 2026, at the Coe Library and Wyoming Union on the campus of the University of Wyoming. Students completed year-long research projects inspired by the National History Day theme, “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History,” and presented outstanding papers, documentaries, exhibits, performances, and websites.

Hundreds of students from across the state participated in regional contests, with 135 advancing to the state competition in the 46th annual Wyoming History Day.

Several students also received special awards made possible through the generosity of sponsors including WyoHistory.org, the University of Wyoming Global Engagement Office, National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Wyoming, Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, Wyoming Archaeological Society, Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists, Wyoming State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Heritage Center.

Since 1999, the American Heritage Center has administered the Wyoming History Day state contest, a premier K–12 academic program that helps students build skills in research, creativity, communication, and critical thinking through the study of history. The program’s continued success is supported by the leadership of Bryce Mittelstadt. Additional support is provided by Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources and National History Day. The American Heritage Center also extends sincere thanks to the dozens of volunteers whose time and expertise make the competition possible each year through judging, event support, and day-of operations.

First- and second-place winners in the junior and senior divisions of each category will advance to the National History Day Competition at the University of Maryland this June.

For more information about Wyoming History Day, visit https://www.wyominghistoryday.org/ or contact whd@uwyo.edu

Category Award Winners

Junior Group Documentary

First place: Harmony Johnston and Camille Croft, of Worland Middle School with teacher Deborah Keller, “The Wright Brothers: Heavier Than Air Powered Flight.”

Second place: Paislee Erickson and Lexxi Miller, of Worland Middle School with Keller, “Life of Leadership.”

Senior Group Documentary

First place: Iris Woltman and Alex Wise, of Lander Valley High School with teacher Stacey Polson, “Dalit Women’s Movement: Revolution, Reaction, and Reform.”

Second place: Ryder Allen and Roxanne Melinkovich, of Pinedale High School with teacher Rose Robertson, “The Historical Impact of Miranda Rights and How it Revolutionized the Way Confessions are Received Today.”

Junior Group Exhibit

First place: Matteo Oldani and Ryder Benjamin, of Jackson Hole Middle School with teacher Greg Poduska, “The Shadow of a Second Sun.”

Second place: Portia Melinkovich and Sari Cenac, of Pinedale Middle School with teacher Mitcham Irrgang, “Anne Frank and the Holocaust.”

Senior Group Exhibit

First place: August Gutwein and Henry Spellman, of Jackson Hole High School with teacher Nicholas Bauman, “Los Alamos.”

Second place: Nick Barlow Harignordoquy, Rocco Oldani, Rowan Bruner and Kade Mallen, of Jackson Hole High School with Bauman, “Forgotten Guardians.”

Junior Group Performance

First place: Truly Homer-Wambeam and Winifred Homer-Wambeam, of Laramie homeschool with teacher Laurie Homer, “Voices of a Revolution: How the Reaction of Folk Musicians Influenced Reforms in 1960s America.”

Second place: Temperance Olsen and Joanna Tadlock, of Worland Middle School with Keller, “Shattering Stereotypes.”

Senior Group Performance

First place:  Kate Furmanek, Anni Hansen, Mia Grohne and Joy Hayashida-Ludington, of Jackson Hole High School with teachers Jeff Brazil and Bauman, “The Beatles.”

Second place: Kai Noojibail, Miles Krasula and Ryder Witt, of Jackson Hole High School with Bauman, “A Revolution in Misinformation.”

Junior Group Website

First place: Blake Mergl and Jack Irrgang, of Pinedale Middle School with teacher Mitcham Irrgang, “Cuban Missile Crisis.”

Second place: Kayson Herebia and Colt Collingwood, of Greybull Middle School with teacher Michelle Stebner, “The Green Revolution.”

Senior Group Website

First place: Dodge Hamilton and Jackson Thornton, of Pinedale High School with Robertson, “Iron Age Ship Building.”

Second place: Hannah Kaiser and Taylor Wickham, of Pinedale High School with Robertson, “Yellowstone National Park- Frontier to Forever.”

Junior Individual Documentary

First place: Kershaw Finlay, of Jackson Hole Middle School with Poduska, “War in Paradise: The Second Samoan Civil War and the Tripartite Convention of 1899’s Reform of the Samoan Islands.”

Second place: Alysa Brown, of Jackson Hole Middle School with Poduska, “A Whistle for Society-Violet Palmer.”

Senior Individual Documentary

First place: Ellie Baker, of Jackson Hole High School with Bauman, “The Howls of Wyoming: How an Ecological Revolution Triggered a Tremendous Reaction in the West.”

Second place: Adrienne Jones, of Pinedale High School with Robertson, “Reaction and Reform Through Music in Anti-War Culture of the 1960s and ‘70s.”

Junior Individual Exhibit

First place: Jessie Jensen, of Shoshoni K-12 School with teacher Jordan Becker, “The Cuban Missile Crisis.”

Second place: Tucker Bass, of Shoshoni K-12 School with Becker, “The Navajo Code Talkers.”

Senior Individual Exhibit

First place: Oliver Steinberg, of Jackson Hole High School with Jeff Brazil and Bauman, “The Vietnam War: Changing War With Private Contractors.”

Second place: Emily Mai, of Laramie High School with teacher William Plumb, “Reaction to Injustice: The Black 14’s Drive for Reform.”

Junior Individual Performance

First place: Roma Beaulier, of Laramie homeschool with teacher Anemone Beaulier, “The Conservation Revolution of the 1906 Antiquities Act and the Reaction and Reform That Followed.”

Second place: Dagny Lee, of Cody Middle School with teacher Gretl Class, “The Price Paid: The Story of the St Valentine’s Days Massacre.”

Senior Individual Performance

First place: Lilla Beaulier, of Laramie Homeschool with Beaulier, “The Life and Death of Cattle Kate: The Revolutionary Homestead Act, the Wyoming Cattle Barons’ Reaction, and the Resulting Reforms to the Open Range.”

Junior Individual Website

First place: Violet Dunn, of Shoshoni K-12 School with Becker, “Florence Nightingale.”

2nd Place: Ezra Ferguson, of Worland Middle School with Keller, “The Industrial Revolution Upclose.”

Senior Individual Website

First place: Morgan DeStefano, of Kelly Walsh High School with teacher Marc Fleming, “The Women Who Demanded Change: The Lowell Mill Girls.”

Second place: Parker McDowell, of Jackson Hole High School with teacher Jeff Brazil and Bauman, “Bob Woodward and Watergate.”

Junior Paper

First place: Dietrich Otto, of Greybull Middle School with teacher Michelle Stebner, “The Berlin Wall.”

Second place: Sandra Reed, of Jackson Hole Middle School with Poduska, “The Emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language: ‘It Happened on the Playground.’”

Senior Paper

First place: Madison Schroefel, of Kelly Walsh High School with teacher Marc Fleming, “Revolution of 1994: The Violence Against Women Act and the End of Marital Immunity.”

Second place: Jacob DeMott, of Cheyenne Homeschool with teacher Ron DeMott, “Peter the Great: Reforming Russia.”

Special Award Winners

The Wyoming Voices Award honors an outstanding senior division History Day project that showcases exceptional research, storytelling and insight into the history of Wyoming, sponsored by WyoHistory.org. The winner is invited to become a student contributor to WyoHistory.org, collaborating with Kylie McCormick, Wyoming historian and WyoHistory editor, to share their History Day journey and research topic in a published feature. This year’s winner is Mai, of Laramie High School, for “Reaction to Injustice: The Black 14’s Drive for Reform.”

The Family History Award is given for the best use of family history or genealogy, sponsored by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Wyoming. This year’s winner is Wacey Myers, of Shoshoni K-12 School with Becker, for “How Picasso Reformed Art.”

The Jim Gatchell History of Science Award is given for an outstanding project in the history of general, medicinal, technological or veterinary science, sponsored by the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum. This year’s winner is Katherine Levenson, of Jackson Hole High School with Bauman, for “Deep Impact Space Mission: How Deep Impact revolutionized planetary and Cometary Science.”

The Mark A. Greene Excellence Award is given for an outstanding demonstration in the use of primary sources, sponsored by the AHC. This year’s winner is Mai for “Reaction to Injustice: The Black 14’s Drive for Reform.”

The Pieces of the Past Award recognizes a project that explores a topic related to archaeology and what we learn from ancient objects and places. The award is sponsored by the Wyoming Archaeological Society and the Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists. This year’s winners are Hamilton and Thornton for “Iron Age Ship Building.”

The Outstanding Women in History Award honors a project demonstrating outstanding women in history. The award is sponsored by the Wyoming State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This year’s winner is Dunn for “Florence Nightingale.”

The Global Engagement Award for Excellence in International History recognizes an outstanding project that demonstrates exceptional research, analysis and interpretation of international history or global affairs. The award is sponsored by the UWYO Global Engagement Office. This year’s winners are Anneke Bradley and Vada Haling, of Jackson Hole High School with Bauman, for “The Royal Question: A People’s Reaction and the Reform of a Divided Nation.”

The George and Linda LaBarre Scholarship, which includes $1,500, split between winners, is for an outstanding entry for a high school junior or senior student attending a college in Wyoming or UW. The award is sponsored by the AHC. This year’s winners are Melinkovich and Allen, of Pinedale High School with Robertson, for “The Historical Impact of Miranda Rights and How it Revolutionized the Way Confessions are Received Today.”

The Gerald and Jessie Chambers Scholarship, for $3,000, is for an outstanding entry for a high school junior or senior student attending a college in Wyoming or UW. The award is sponsored by the AHC. This year’s winner is Jones for “Reaction and Reform Through Music in Anti-War Culture of the 1960s and ‘70s.”

Post contributed by AHC Head of Education and Outreach Brigida Blasi and Wyoming History Day Coordinator Bryce Mittelstadt.