Published on Thu., May 14, 2026

Students from Linkhorne Middle School, Dunbar Middle School, and Dearington Elementary School for Innovation competed in the Virginia History Day state contest at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) in Richmond from April 25-26, 2026. Twelve students from Linkhorne Middle and Dearington Elementary placed in the state contest. Five Linkhorne Middle School students will advance to the National History Day competition from June 14-18 at the University of Maryland.

Each of these students spent months researching historical topics of interest and presenting their findings through creative approaches and various media. This interdisciplinary research project helped students develop critical thinking and literacy skills while connecting with historical events and concepts. This year’s theme was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.”

Five middle school students standing with certificates and competition medals standing in front of Linkhorne Middle School mural with their teacher
Photo caption: Linkhorne Middle School National History Day competition qualifiers with their teacher, Tristin Burke.

State Awards

The following Linkhorne Middle students qualified for the national competition after winning top awards at the state level:

  • Eve Flavin: 1st place, Individual Website. Topic: "Criminal Anarchy and the Red Scare: The Prosecution of Big Jim Larkin"
  • Eleanor McAngus and Ace Willis, Linkhorne Middle: 2nd place, Group Website. Topic: "Taking a Seat, Taking a Stand: Revolution at Patterson Drug Store in Lynchburg, Virginia"
  • Sydney Huffman and Adalyn Sheaffer, Linkhorne Middle: 1st place, Group Documentary. Topic: "From One Pool to a Revolution: Camp Kum-Ba-Yah and the Ripple of Inclusion"

The following Linkhorne Middle and Dearington Elementary students also placed in the state competition:

  • Paisley Scott and Marlo Calloway, Linkhorne Middle: 3rd place, Group Exhibit. Topic: "From History Books to Hip Hop: A Revolution Retold Through Hamilton"
  • Ava Walker, Khloe Knight, Zoey Knight, and Leah Pamahoy, Dearington Elementary: 2nd place, Group Exhibit. Topic: "Barbara Johns"
  • Bria Sheaffer, Dearington Elementary: 3rd place, Individual Performance. Topic: "Yorktown"

The following Linkorne Middle students won special awards in the state competition:

  • Eleanor McAngus and Ace Willis: Robert Russa Moton Museum African American History Award
  • Sydney Huffman and Adalyn Sheaffer: Anne R. Worrell Junior Project Award
  • James Flavin: VMHC Immigration History Award. Topic: "Dagger John vs. the Know-Nothings: Irish Catholic Political Resistance in Antebellum New York"

Four elementary students in caps and gowns wearing competition medals
Photo caption: Dearington Elementary School students at the state Virginia History Day competition.

District Awards

Sixty-one LCS students placed in the top four in their age divisions at the district competition at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) on March 28. Fifty-two students advanced to the state contest after placing first, second, or third.
 
Congratulations to the following students:

Dearington Elementary School for Innovation

  • Bria Sheaffer: 1st place, Individual Performance. Topic: "Yorktown"
  • Daliah Scott: 4th place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: "James Lafayette"
  • Meliyah West: 3rd place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: "Harriet Tubman"
  • Tierney Bush: 2nd place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: "Rosa Parks"
  • Elizabeth Yoder: 1st place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: "The Great Molasses Flood"
  • Kionna Brown and Ticari Hamlette: 4th place, Group Exhibit. Topic: "Bessie Coleman"
  • Victory Davis, Garland River King, Ke'Shawn Moss, and Aden Scott: 3rd place, Group Exhibit. Topic: "911 Aftermath"
  • Ava Walker, Taliyah Cobbs, Khloe Knight, Zoey Knight, and Leah Pamahoy: 1st place, Group Exhibit. Topic: "Barbara Johns"

Large group of students at competition wearing medals, National History Day banner in background
Photo caption: Linkhorne Middle School students at the district competition. 

Linkhorne Middle School

  • Asher Foster: 3rd place, Paper. Topic: “The Homespun Movement”
  • Amina Burford: 2nd place, Paper. Topic: “Silencing a Revolutionary: Fred Hampton, Government Reaction, and the Struggle for Reform”
  • Hannah Spinner: 1st place, Individual Performance. Topic: “African American Musical Evolution”
  • Eve Flavin: 1st place, Individual Website. Topic: “Criminal Anarchy and the Red Scare: The Prosecution of Big Jim Larkin”
  • Charlotte Schappeit: 2nd place, Individual Website. Topic: “Rachel Carson”
  • Karter Cashwell: 3rd place, Individual Website. Topic: “Henrietta Lacks: A Medical Revolution”
  • Kamran Horsley: 4th place, Individual Website. Topic: “Colin Kaepernick”
  • James Flavin: 1st place, Paper. Topic: “Dagger John vs. the Know-Nothings: Irish Catholic Political Resistance in Antebellum New York”
  • Lillian Nikitina: 4th place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: “How One Salute Inspired Millions: The 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute”
  • Henry Foster: 3rd place, Individual Exhibit: Topic: “The Raid on Harpers Ferry”
  • Miriam Boyers: 2nd place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: “Trail of Tears”
  • Aria Gugliotta: 1st place, Individual Exhibit. Topic: “Stone, Ink, Oil, and Independence: Art in Service of the Revolution”
  • Lilah Mehaffey, Elowen Mickle, Demilade Oluwaji, and Ruth Reed: 4th place, Group Website. Topic: “I.C.E.”
  • Cooper Smithson, Tenly Turnbow, and Ryzon Vasquez: 1st place, Group Website. Topic: “Napoleon's Blunder: The Haitian Revolution”
  • Eleanor McAngus and Ace Willis: 2nd place, Group Website. Topic: “Taking a Seat, Taking a Stand: Revolution at Patterson Drug Store in Lynchburg, Virginia”
  • Joziah Hamlett, Aspen Moss, and Eli Nicholson: 3rd place, Group Website. Topic: “Henry Box Brown”
  • Paisley Scott and Marlo Calloway: 3rd place, Group Exhibit. Topic: “From History Books to Hip Hop: A Revolution Retold Through Hamilton”
  • Sydney Huffman and Adalyn Sheaffer: 1st place, Group Documentary. Topic: “From One Pool to a Revolution: Camp Kum-Ba-Yah and the Ripple of Inclusion”
  • Elizabeth McCloskey, Margaret McCloskey, and Stella Yeoman: 2nd place, Group Documentary. Topic: “Four Races, One Revolution: Jesse Owens and the Olympics Challenge to Racial Ideology”
  • Campbell Button and Wesley Milam: 3rd place, Group Documentary. Topic: “The Silent Sentinels”

Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School for Innovation

  • Mikailah Daniel, Evangeline Devries, King Early, Chase Gunter, and Eisaiah Salazar: 1st place, Group Performance. Topic: “The Two Philosophers”
  • Dallas Haskins and Victoria Jones: 2nd place, Group Performance. Topic: “La Ligue française”
  • Brooklyn Malone, Magnolia Chisolm, and Miriam Guelzo: 2nd place, Group Exhibit. Topic: “9/11”
  • Loreley Young and Caroline Pollard: 1st place, Group Exhibit. Topic: “Pompeii: Beneath the Ashes”
Eleven middle school students standing in front of Dunbar Middle School mural, some wearing competition medals
Five students showing off medals in the hallway at Dunbar Middle School

Photo caption: Dunbar Middle School students show off their awards from the district competition.