Evergreen Middle School students won a pair of awards in the National History Day Contest, held June 11-15 at the University of Maryland, College Park in Washington, D.C.

The Redmond students garnered awards in two separate categories and were the only middle school in the country to earn two national prizes.

Layasri Ranjith, Ananya Nandula and Ananya Ganapathi won first prize for their Junior Group Documentary titled, “Tuskegee Airmen — Courage knows no color,” and earned the distinction of National Endowment for the Humanities Scholars.

Vidyut Baskar and Pranav Sheokand won second prize in the Junior Group Exhibit for their project titled, “In a League of Their Own: How Ludwig Gutmann’s Paralympics put the Ability in Disability.”

The 2017 contest theme was “Taking a Stand in History,” and the locals joined more than half a million students globally who completed projects in one of the five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website.

After completing a project, students competed in a series of contests beginning at the local level. The top students in all 50 states, D.C., U.S. territories and international schools were given the opportunity to attend the national contest.

National History Day (NHD) Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn praised the students’ “superb level of research and critical thinking skills,” and added that “the skills learned through competing in NHD help prepare students for success in college and career.”

More than 300 historians and education professionals evaluated the students’ work at the national competition. A total of $150,000 in scholarships were awarded at the national awards ceremony and more than 100 students received cash prizes between $250 and $1,000.