KU News Release

LAWRENCE — Junior high and high school students studying German earned 164 medals during the Schülerkongress held March 6 at the University of Kansas.

About 310 students from 21 schools in Abilene, Emporia, Hays, Junction City, Lawrence, Maize, Manhattan, Newton, Olathe, Overland Park, Sedgwick, Stilwell and Topeka attended the annual, day-long event sponsored by the Kansas Association of Teachers of German in cooperation with KU’s Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. In addition, 14 German exchange students attended and conversed in German with student participants between competitions.

Schülerkongress, or student congress, promotes the study of German languages, literature and culture with oral proficiency exercises and contests in poetry recitation, prose reading, spelling, poster making and cultural knowledge. A committee of high school teachers selects the poems and prose in advance to match students’ level of study, such as first-year or second-year German. Faculty and graduate teaching assistants from KU judged the contests.

Junction City High School won first in the poster-making contest. Olathe North High School placed second. Abilene High School and Olathe Northwest High School tied for the third-place award. Individual awards are listed below.

William Keel, chair of Germanic languages and literatures at KU, said the event not only allows high school students to interact with university-level instructors but also supports the efforts of Kansas high school teachers to promote the study of foreign languages and cultures. The first Schülerkongress was held in 1965 at KU, where it has become, with few exceptions, an annual event, Keel said.

Schools represented at Schülerkongress this year were Abilene High School; Blue Valley High School, Stilwell; Blue Valley Northwest High School, Overland Park; Blue Valley West High School, Overland Park; Emporia High School; Hays High School; Junction City High School; Lawrence Central Junior High School; Lawrence High School; Lawrence Free State High School; Lawrence South Junior High School; Lawrence Southwest Junior

High School; Maize High School; Newton High School; Olathe East High School; Olathe North High School; Olathe Northwest High School; Topeka West High School; and Washburn Rural High School, Topeka.

Students who won medals are listed below by their schools and individual awards. Some students earned medals in more than one event. Awards are listed by contest and level of proficiency.

Abilene High School: Sophia Pitney, first-year German poetry; Brandon Rein, first-year German prose

Blue Valley High School: Kendall Hardinger, second-year German culture quiz

Blue Valley North High School: Isabella Ford, fourth-year German culture quiz

Blue Valley Northwest High School: Matt Breltman, first-year German poetry; Collin Buhen, first-year German prose; Ricky Carlson, first-year German poetry; Matt Johnson, first-year German poetry and first-year German culture quiz; Tanner Menees, third-year German culture quiz; Ralph Pinion, second-year German poetry; Lisa Rivadeniera, fifth-year German poetry, fifth-year German prose and fifth-year German culture quiz; Matt Tantillo, fourth-year German prose and fourth-year German culture quiz; Mason Uvodich, fourth-year German prose

Blue Valley West High School: Witt Womack, second-year German culture quiz

Hays High School: Hayden Phlieger, first-year German Prose

Junction City High School: Hillary Abel, first-year German poetry, first-year German prose and first-year German culture quiz; Alex Adams, third-year German prose, third-year German spelling and third-year German culture quiz; Maddie Arnold, fifth-year German poetry, fifth-year German prose, fifth-year German spelling and fifth-year German culture quiz; Stefan Arnold, fourth-year German poetry, fourth-year German spelling and fourth-year German prose; Adam Bakas, first-year German prose; Vanessa Behrens, fourth-year German poetry, fourth-year German culture quiz; May Benoliel, first-year German poetry, first-year German prose and first-year German Culture Quiz; Richard Bolen, first-year German poetry, first-year German prose and first-year German culture quiz; Ammon Borjas, first-year German poetry and first-year German prose; Natasha Castillo, third-year German poetry, third-year German prose and third-year German culture quiz; Andrew Craig, first-year German poetry; Kyle Eisermann, second-year German poetry; Alex Griffiths, fourth-year German culture quiz; Cheryl Henderson, third-year German poetry, third-year German prose and third-year German culture quiz; Christel Hill, third-year German prose; Beth Hillebert, second-year German poetry and second-year German culture quiz; Ryan Hoyt, first-year German poetry; Brittanie Jamerson, third-year German culture quiz; Hillary Kebbel, second-year German poetry and second-year German prose; Michael-Bryan Kelly, first-year German prose; Kimberly Leighty, fourth-year German culture quiz; Desiree Perkings, first-year German poetry, first-year German prose, first-year German culture quiz; Donovan Sherraden, third-year German prose and third-year German culture quiz; Janea Tate, second-year German culture quiz, second-year German prose and second-year German poetry; Rio Temese, second-year German poetry, second-year German prose, second-year German spelling and second-year German culture quiz; Isaiah Tharp, first-year German prose and first-year German poetry; Lacey Toothman, first-year German poetry

Lawrence Central Junior High School: Maddie Bell, first-year German poetry; Katy Davis, first-year German poetry and first-year German spelling

Lawrence Free State High School: Cassandra Barret, fourth-year German poetry and fourth-year German spelling; Alec Fitzgerald, fourth-year German prose and fourth-year German spelling

Lawrence High School: Joyce Bohling, fourth-year German poetry, fourth-year German prose and fourth-year German spelling; Orion Dollar, third-year German prose, third-year German poetry and third-year German spelling; Matt Drahozal, fourth-year German prose, fourth-year German poetry and fourth-year German spelling; Helen Gent, second-year German poetry and second-year German prose; Alison Hunt, second-year German prose; Ulrich Johannis, third-year German poetry; Dereck Limmes, second-year German poetry and second-year German prose; Brian Loux, second-year German prose; Forrest Munro, second-year German poetry and second-year German prose; Stephen Obiefule, third-year German poetry and third-year German prose; Isaac Rinke, second-year German prose; Tonya Schreiber, first-year German poetry; Jacob Wilson, third-year German spelling; Megan Wilson, second-year German poetry and second-year German prose

Lawrence Southwest Junior High School: Katie Conrad, first-year German poetry and first-year German prose; Elbeg Erdenne, first-year German poetry, first-year German prose and first-year German spelling; Cisco Esparza, first-year German poetry; Fletcher Koch, first-year German poetry; Lucas Lesslie, first-year German poetry and first-year German prose; Lydia Longabach, first-year German poetry and first-year German prose; Madison Mielke, first-year German prose; Ben Soukup, first-year German prose; Kat Sterbenz, first-year German poetry

Maize High School: Brandon Johnson, fifth-year German prose, fifth-year German spelling and fifth-year German culture quiz; Michael Koegeboehn, second-year German spelling; Drevel Taglin, first-year German poetry

Manhattan High School: Nathan Cole, first-year German poetry and first-year German spelling; Kayla Frayle, second-year German prose; Zane Hayden, first-year German poetry; Samantha Hillstock, first-year German poetry and first-year German spelling; Rachel Hunt, first-year German poetry; Brittany Jones, first-year German poetry; Abby Sarvis, first-year German poetry; Jeremy Toy, fifth-year German poetry and fifth-year German prose; Elisa Zerabruck, fifth-year German poetry, fifth-year German prose, fifth-year German spelling and fifth-year German culture quiz

Olathe East High School: Rachel Kimmich, first-year German poetry; Matt Niles, third-year German culture quiz and third-year German spelling; Yesi Olvera, first-year German spelling; Joachim Rowe, second-year German poetry, second-year German prose and second-year German spelling

Olathe North High School: Sydney Bryer, third-year German spelling; Antonio Ortiz, second-year German prose, second-year German spelling and second-year German culture quiz

Olathe Northwest High School: Sedona Bales-Woods, second-year German spelling; Nick Matherson, first-year German culture quiz

Sedgwick High School: Jamy Douvier, fifth-year German poetry; Jessica Lovett, second-year German prose

Topeka West High School: Trey Dar, second-year German culture quiz; Patrick Stegman, second-year German culture quiz; and Stewart Taylor, fifth-year German culture quiz