NILES Edison pupils will vie in history competition

The competition is sponsored by the History Channel and National Geographic.
NILES -- A number of pupils at Edison Junior High School are preparing for competition in Columbus during National History Day.
The teams won the opportunity to compete April 27 at Ohio State University by taking honors in their categories Saturday at Youngstown State University.
National competition will be June 10-14 at the University of Maryland.
Gaye Breegle, social studies teacher, said Edison pupils have reached national competition three of the last four years.
Breegle said the national competition is the oldest and largest humanities competition in the country. It's sponsored by the History Channel and National Geographic.
This year's theme is "Revolution, Reaction and Reform."
Research, exhibit
Pupils are required to research their projects and construct an exhibit. For example, one team selected the closing of area steel mills and interviewed those affected by the shutdowns.
Edison competed against 11 other schools in Mahoning and Trumbull counties in the local competition.
Besides exhibits, pupils were able to submit a video documentary or a historical paper or perform in a play.
Members of the first-place team in the junior group exhibit are Brandon Boucher and Brian Infante, both seventh-graders, and the second-place team members are Brooke Barnhart, Stephanie Parish and Laura Schaefer. Third-place finishers in that category also going to state are Danielle Nemeth, Mindy Hake and Stephanie Hallock.
Other winners
Others winning area competition were Katie Marburger, eighth grade, first in junior individual exhibition; Todd Margot, seventh grade; first place in junior historical paper; and Zachary O'Meara, seventh grade, third place in junior historical paper.
In junior group performance, Alyssa Suckow and Chrissy Mickel, both eighth-graders, took first place; while Christopher O'Meara, a Niles McKinely High School sophomore, took first place in senior historical paper.
Breegle said the pupils have been working on their presentations since January.
In separate competition sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, the Local History Award went to Barnhart, Parish and Schaefer. Second place was awarded to Kelly Leonard, Lee Ann Pregibon and Tyler Fridley, and third place went to Blain Begalla, all eighth-graders.