WARSAW — For the second straight year, a group of Edgewood Middle School students won a special prize at the National Contest for National History Day. The prize was announced during a ceremony June 14 in Washington, D.C.

Each year, The Civil War Trust sponsors the Civil War History Prize. This year, the honor went to Geoffrey Hochstetler, Jason Benyousky, Keller Bailey and Ryun Hoffert for their Junior Group performance, “The Conflicts and Compromises of Writer and Civil War Soldier Ambrose Bierce.”

In 2017, the Edgewood students won two NHD awards for their project, “The Many Stands of Pearl Harbor,” before traveling to Hawaii for the 76th anniversary commemoration ceremony where they met with survivors and performed their skit honoring the men.

Their return to the national contest put the group near the top of more than 500,000 students globally who completed projects in one of five categories — documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website — and then competed in a series of contests beginning at the local level. Less than one percent of projects advanced to the national contest.

“To make it to the National Contest is a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, NHD executive director. “It requires a superb level of research and critical thinking skills. I am confident we will continue to see great things from all of these students because the skills learned through competing in NHD help prepare students for success in college and career.”

National History Day in Indiana is sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society. More than 60 Hoosier students attended the 2018 National Contest, with 11 awards, prizes or honors awarded to Indiana projects and students. A complete list of 2018 NHD winners is available at www.nhd.org/winners.