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2026 FHD State Winners

Webpage last updated: May 05, 2026

The following students received category awards at the 2026 Florida History Day state competition.

Junior Historical Paper

1st Place

Ben Hirku

A Rebellious Chink in the Soviet Armor: The 1956 Hungarian Revolution

Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Teresa Bergstrom

2nd Place

Siratul Mustafa

The Bangladeshi Liberation War of 1971: How Bengalis Reformed From Being Under Oppression, to Becoming A New Nation

Thomas E. Weightman Middle School (Pasco)
Teacher: Christine Williams, Megan Dill

3rd Place

Mia Spiro

From Idea to Reality: The Creation of Pain-Free Surgery through Anesthesia

Sarasota Middle School (Sarasota)
Teacher: Jennifer Jaso

Senior Historical Paper

1st Place

Liliana Leonarduzzi

Jose Rizal: Reactions to Injustice, Calls for Reform, and Inspiring Revolutions

Palm Harbor University High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Andreas Mandelos

2nd Place

Walter Boswell

Revolution Without Violence: How the Irish Land War Forced Reaction and Reform
Creekside High School (St. Johns)

Teacher: Carlton Cashwell

3rd Place

Halden Euridge

Through Red Tinted Glasses: Government and Corporations in The First Red Scare Lawton Chiles High School (Leon)

Teacher: Wes Singletary

Junior Individual Documentary

1st Place

Lauren Patrick

The Battle of Selma

Celebration School (Osceola)
Teacher: Andrew Keech

2nd Place

Jillian Courts

The Riot Grrrl movement: Born of Punk's Contradictions.

Fort Clark Middle School (Alachua)
Teacher: Amy Reed

3rd Place

Wake Stern

The Saint Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line: A Revolution in Aviation and Transportation

Madeira Beach Fundamental K-8 (Pinellas)
Teacher: Rebecca Lang, Michelle Anderson

Junior Group Documentary

1st Place     

Krishaan Sharma, Ruhaan Vyas, Tanish Patel, Avi Amin

A Forgotten Scar on the Sunshine State: The Rosewood Massacre of 1923

Dr. John Long Middle School (Pasco)
Teacher: Molley Kamtam, Megan Dill

2nd Place

Lily Lahav, Avery Zika

Under Orders

Lake Highland Preparatory School (Orange)
Teacher: Emily Funston

3rd Place

Ira Tucker, Italia Gibson

Constantinople's Fall: The Siege that Revolutionized the World

Okaloosa STEMM Center (Okaloosa)
Teacher: Andrew Adams

Senior Individual Documentary

1st Place

Devansh Dhavale

The Revolution Wore a Dress and Carried a Child: Women’s Reaction and Reform in the Great Depression – America’s Darkest Hour

Wiregrass Ranch High School (Pasco)
Teacher: Marlene Freiser, Megan Dill

2nd Place

Riya Chowdhury

The Social Media Battlefield: Libya’s 2011 Digital Fight for Democracy

Haines City Senior High School (Polk)
Teacher: Sarah Smith

3rd Place

Catherine Mitchell

Waging War for Equality: How the Revolutionary Equal Pay Act of 1963 Reformed Women’s Rights

Ponte Vedra High School (St. Johns)
Teacher: Jennifer Lee

Senior Group Documentary

1st Place

Josh Ibrahim, Clayton White

From Rubber to Restaurants to Ratings

Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: James Jones

2nd Place

Dayton Billing, Gabriel Gonzalez, Roman Cartes

Iranian Revolution: A Battle for Liberation that Ended in Loss
The King's Academy (Palm Beach)
Teacher: Brittany Gay

3rd Place

Peter Ruiz, Henry White

A Castle Built on Sand: How the Collapse of the Dot-Com Bubble Shaped the Modern Economy
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: James Jones

Junior Individual Performance

1st Place

Henry Wellhausen

Godzilla vs The Lucky Dragon

University Academy (Bay)
Teacher: Dianne Johnston 

2nd Place

Hannah Stowers

Russia: The Revolution, Reactions, and Reformations
Saint Barnabas Episcopal School (Volusia)
Teacher: Teresa Umberger

3rd Place

Mikayla Jones

Looking For Trouble
Breakfast Point Academy (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons

Junior Group Performance

1st Place

Catherine Krampert, Gwyneth Harrington

Three Reeds, Two Legacies, One Revolution: The Supreme Court Case of Reed vs. Reed, 1971

Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Teresa Bergstrom

2nd Place

Irene Garcia, Mia Dountz, Jenna Patel

The Courage To Meddle 

Breakfast Point Academy (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons      

3rd Place

Polina Nashtatik, Veronica Sandusky, Avery Newell

From Silence to Sentiments: The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848

Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Teresa Bergstrom

Senior Individual Performance

1st Place

Eleanor Nartker

The Titanic! A catalyst reaction leading to reform and revolution in the radio industry.

Palm Harbor University High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Andreas Mandelos

2nd Place

Adelyn French

Manufacturing a Revolution: The Market Revolution’s Impact on Economic Reformation of American Society

Palm Harbor University High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Andreas Mandelos

3rd Place

Caden Crawley

Blooms of Change: How the Carnation Revolution Triggered Reaction and Reform in History

Niceville Senior High School (Okaloosa)
Teacher: Justin Reichard

Senior Group Performance

1st Place

Addison Roberts, Julia Bonfanti

The Music Revolution: How Sociopolitical Changes Reformed Music in the 1960s

Lawton Chiles High School (Leon)
Teacher: Wes Singletary

2nd Place

Madison Baker, Olivia Alexander, Olivia Losey, Sarah Buntrock, Lyla Parker

The Cost of Conformity

Fort Myers High School (Lee)
Teacher: Scott Whittamore

3rd Place

Shayna Graff, Ayana Kotadya 

The Founding Mothers and Daughters: Reforming the American Revolution

Palm Harbor University High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Andreas Mandelos

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st Place

Dillon Seamans

Potato Blight; British Blame and Irish Change

Ernest Ward Middle School (Escambia)
Teacher: Megan Bryan

2nd Place

Myles Kastner

The Chain Reaction of the Atomic Bomb

Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts (Lee)
Teacher: Charndra Carias

3rd Place

Delaney Chafin

The War For Hearts and Minds

Breakfast Point Academy (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons

Junior Group Exhibit

 1st Place

Maximus Brown, Wyatt Simpson

Jacob Riis: The Camera Doesn't Lie.

Cornerstone Learning Community (Leon)
Teacher: Kyle Killian

 2nd Place

Lucy Utter, Caroline Mattox, Lauren Tarnosky

From Letter to Law: Gideon and the Right to Counsel

East Hill Christian School (Escambia)
Teacher: Phillip Emond

 3rd Place

Natalie Xiao, Violet West

The Forgotten Holocaust

Breakfast Point Academy (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons

Senior Individual Exhibit

1st Place

Kailey Amaya

Integrated in Crisis: The 1932 Bonus Army's Challenge to Segregation

American Heritage School - Palm Beach Campus (Palm Beach)
Teacher: Riley Sarkela

2nd Place

Nicole Huynh

Heredity and Evolution: The Misuse of Science in the Rise of Eugenic Ideology and Genocide

Wiregrass Ranch High School (Pasco)
Teacher: Marlene Freiser, Megan Dill

3rd Place

Nahla Carter

Sundown Towns : Systems of racial exclusion and Their Lasting Impact

Gulf High School (Pasco)
Teacher: Dina Tsounias, Megan Dill

Senior Group Exhibit

1st Place

Sophie Yu, Melody Yu

Brewing a Revolution The Boston Tea Party

Maclay School (Leon)
Teacher: David Combs

2nd Place

Peyton Chester, Lucy Mitchem

Streetcar Strike of 1908

Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: James Jones

3rd Place

Leilani Cajina, Alicia Colon

The Revolution of Fashion: Punk

Gulf High School (Pasco)
Teacher: Dina Tsounias, Megan Dill

Junior Individual Website

1st Place

Jaiden Chetty

The Jungle's Roar: Upton Sinclair and the Revolution in Food Safety

Howard Middle School (Marion)
Teacher: Pamela Earnest

2nd Place

Elijah Orama

The Bionic Man: How Tommy John Surgery changed the baseball world forever.

Joseph L. Carwise Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Brandi Alahouzos

3rd Place

John Mauterer

1980s New York City Subway Graffiti

Raa Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Krystena Hutchins

Junior Group Website

1st Place

Ethan Liu, Renae Yan, Rui Tong Zhang

Revolutions, Reactions, and Reforms in American Passenger Air Travel from 1970-1990

Homeschool (Orange)
Teacher: Xiongwei Cao

2nd Place

Francesco Nicosia, Raunav Bhatnagar, Rishiom Dasgupta

The Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Causes, Consequences, and Legacy

Starkey Ranch K-8 School (Pasco)
Teachers: Robert McGowan, Megan Dill

3rd Place

Amr Jaber, Arjun Patel

The Pandemic That Reshaped American Health Policies

Lawton Chiles Middle Academy (Polk)
Teacher: Deborah Tregler

Senior Individual Website

1st Place

Yichen Ou

Pioneering Photojournalism: Jacob Riis’s Revolutionary Photographs and the Reform of Urban America

Lawton Chiles High School (Leon)
Teacher: Wes Singletary

2nd Place

Tucker Minton

Miranda v. Arizona: A Revolution in Rights

The King's Academy (Palm Beach)
Teacher: Brittany Gay

3rd Place

Amairani Fagin

"Kids, There's Gonna Be a Party in the Park": The Children's Crusade and the Reaction that Demanded Reform

Wesley Chapel High School (Pasco)
Teacher: Fay Geiger, Megan Dill

Senior Group Website

1st Place

Yssabella Lagunero-Lumayno, Krithika Senthilnathan

The Harlem Race Riots of 1964: New York's Fight for Racial Justice

Bartow Senior High School (Polk)
Teacher: Angela Fortunas

2nd Place

Emon Das, Subhashree Bala

A Cure, A Crisis, A Changed Nation: The Cutter Incident of 1955

Seminole High School (Seminole)
Teacher: Adam Carpenter

3rd Place

Miguel Chuquilin, Chioma Onuoha

The Haitian Refugee Crisis – The True Story of Refugees, Reaction, and Repatriation

Lawton Chiles High School (Leon)
Teacher: Wes Singletary