Dozens of eighth-grade students from all around West Virginia gathered on the steps of the state Capitol on Thursday afternoon before the annual Golden Horseshoe Award ceremony. The award is presented to students who do very well on a test measuring knowledge of West Virginia's history and culture.
Mercer: Chase Broyles, Taylor Lewis, Randall Maxey Jr., Jacob Mayberry, James Michels, Benjamin Sheffler,
Mineral: Devon Alt, Emily Hines, Andrew Kenney, Olivia Young
Mingo: Faith Hensley, Shane Milam, Kailey Stuart, Jessica Sturgell
Monongalia: Michael Jones, Emily Lederman, Avery Lyons, Mathew Peries, Sadaf Sarwari, Roark Sizemore
Monroe: Catherine Allen, Savannah Horney, Shannon Miller
Morgan: Robert Ratcliff III, Logan Rothstein, Jeremy Walls
Nicholas: Morgan Collins, William Lyons, Ethan Miller, Maggie Sebert-Sweeney
Ohio: Elena Akers, Kayley Miller, James Miller III, Eli Pavilack
Pendleton: Francis Dunn, Chase Simmons
Pleasants: Katelyn Billeter, Jenna Snodgrass, Kyle Taylor
Pocahontas: Caitlin Barnes, Tommy Gruelick
Preston: Ashley Cole, Rylee Roy, Seth Spahr, Emilea Warnick
Putnam: John Carnell, Morgan Hambel, Caroline Leadmon, Sarah Lipinski, Nicholas Reeder, Brett Watts
Raleigh: Savannah Gwinn, Michael Hegele, Brandon Keaton, Caleb Miller, Trevor Pritchett, Paul Rose, Lucas Thompson
Randolph: Ty Davisson, Benjamin Hummer, Walter King, Katelin Snyder
Ritchie: Ryan Alexander, Justin Curfman, Elizabeth Little
Roane: Johnathan Harris, Nicholas Keaton, Camden Moore
Summers: Amber Avis, Pearl Knott, Joshua Smith
Taylor: Taylor Dean, Benjamin Flohr, Trevor Seargeant
Tucker: Amanda Harper, Lukas Thompson
Tyler: Scott Gorby, Brannon Jones, Julian Work
Upshur: John Antolini, Tyler Boyd, Nathan Hoover, Zackary Malcomb
Wayne: Shelby Adams, Alexander Kleppe, Joshua Mitts, Eddie Stamper Jr., Benjamin Thompson
Webster: Bethany Anderson, Sydney Mollohan, Jakob Payne
Wetzel: Derrick Blain, Chase Miller, Carter Seckman
Wirt: Cammi Ferguson, Brady Ohrn
Wood: Lauren Adkins, Mary Bolton, Allison Currey, Donna Kincaid, Andrew Mommessin, Ethan Powers, Lilyan Wright
Wyoming: Rodney Cameron, Zachary McCoy, Bradley McKinney, Erika Osborne
West Virginia School for the Blind: Tyler Greene
West Virginia School for the Deaf: Kailey Minor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- More than 200 West Virginia eighth-graders were presented with the Golden Horseshoe Award for outstanding performance on the test measuring students' knowledge of the state's history and culture.
Students who received the award on Thursday were inducted as knights and ladies of the Golden Horseshoe Society. The induction ceremony was held at the state Culture Center.
The Golden Horseshoe originated in the early colony of Virginia when Gov. Alexander Spotswood saw the need for exploration of the land west of the Allegheny Mountains, most of which is now West Virginia. Spotswood presented each member of the exploration party with a golden horseshoe to commemorate the venture.
The Golden Horseshoe test has been administered in West Virginia each year since 1931 and is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. The top-scoring students in each county receive the prestigious award.
Golden Horseshoe Winners:
Barbour County: Kyle Amodio, Corrine McDaniel, Brandon Taylor
Berkeley: Zachary Andrews, Anthony Brown, Elizabeth Chaney, Stephen Groh, Tara Morgen, Vincent Powell, Tyler Richards, Joshua Taylor, Matthew Zollinger
Boone: Delmar Browning, Caleb Coffey, Jonathan Malcomb, Jordan Wheatley
Braxton: Caroline Nicholas, Sarah Skidmore, Emma Steorts
Brooke: William Combs, Madeleine Marks, Dalton Minger
Cabell: Jacob Bryant, Bethann Flint, John Holbrook, Spencer Mays, Mary Piaskowski, Stephen Richbart, Trevor Wilson
Calhoun: Taylor Garrett, Melinda McCumbers
Clay: Johnna Casey, Isabelle Haverty, George Wilkinson, KaliMuhly-Alexander, Shawna Webb
Fayette: Bailey Bowling, Brianna Canterbury, Haley Skaggs, Jared Stover, Tyler Zickafoose
Gilmer: Hannah Moore, Cheruto Shiow
Grant: Nicholas Green, Lauren Harman, Austin Meck
Greenbrier: Justin Adkins, Brandon Ayers, Hannah Crist, Katherine Walton
Hampshire: Colton Corbin, Arlie Dolly IV, Robert Judy
Hancock: Elijah Ford, Daniel Mayfield, Isabella Neer, Zachary Porter
Hardy: Mitchell Martin, Joshua Ograbisz, Mallory Sisler
Harrison: Alexander Bradley-Popovich, Jacob Funk, Daniel Keough, Margaret Lohmann, Minahal Naveed, Brandon Richter
Jackson: Alyssa Bumpus, Brett Johnson, Solomon Phillips, Briana Wright
Jefferson: Ryan Brigman, Samuel Dilima, Hunter Palmer, William Shultz III, Christian Thrasher
Kanawha: Daniel Atik, Benjamin Bradley, Alexander Canfield, Taylor Gessel, Allison Haynes, Brooke Hypes, Samuel Levenson, Zane Lewis, Isasc Liu, Kara Lough, Regan Sands, Madison Soice, Madeleine Summers
Lewis: Kurtis Gunter, Hannah Hall, Lindsey Lough
Lincoln: Caleb Cook, Kiara Pauley, Jade Saul
Logan: Alex Berry, Andrew Bias, Michael Bryant, Lasyapriya Pidaparthi
Marion: Evan Cole, Ryan Desellems, Emily Doshier, Alexander Hays, Noah Redmond
Marshall: Luke Foster, Sierra Klages, Joseph Kuskey, Anthony Meggs,
Mason: Kristin DeVault, Dylan Haynes, Brandon Henderson, Jamin Layton
McDowell: Jeffrey Bennett, Shania Clack, Andrea Short
Mercer: Chase Broyles, Taylor Lewis, Randall Maxey Jr., Jacob Mayberry, James Michels, Benjamin Sheffler,
Mineral: Devon Alt, Emily Hines, Andrew Kenney, Olivia Young
Mingo: Faith Hensley, Shane Milam, Kailey Stuart, Jessica Sturgell
Monongalia: Michael Jones, Emily Lederman, Avery Lyons, Mathew Peries, Sadaf Sarwari, Roark Sizemore
Monroe: Catherine Allen, Savannah Horney, Shannon Miller
Morgan: Robert Ratcliff III, Logan Rothstein, Jeremy Walls
Nicholas: Morgan Collins, William Lyons, Ethan Miller, Maggie Sebert-Sweeney
Ohio: Elena Akers, Kayley Miller, James Miller III, Eli Pavilack
Pendleton: Francis Dunn, Chase Simmons
Pleasants: Katelyn Billeter, Jenna Snodgrass, Kyle Taylor
Pocahontas: Caitlin Barnes, Tommy Gruelick
Preston: Ashley Cole, Rylee Roy, Seth Spahr, Emilea Warnick
Putnam: John Carnell, Morgan Hambel, Caroline Leadmon, Sarah Lipinski, Nicholas Reeder, Brett Watts
Raleigh: Savannah Gwinn, Michael Hegele, Brandon Keaton, Caleb Miller, Trevor Pritchett, Paul Rose, Lucas Thompson
Randolph: Ty Davisson, Benjamin Hummer, Walter King, Katelin Snyder
Ritchie: Ryan Alexander, Justin Curfman, Elizabeth Little
Roane: Johnathan Harris, Nicholas Keaton, Camden Moore
Summers: Amber Avis, Pearl Knott, Joshua Smith
Taylor: Taylor Dean, Benjamin Flohr, Trevor Seargeant
Tucker: Amanda Harper, Lukas Thompson
Tyler: Scott Gorby, Brannon Jones, Julian Work
Upshur: John Antolini, Tyler Boyd, Nathan Hoover, Zackary Malcomb
Wayne: Shelby Adams, Alexander Kleppe, Joshua Mitts, Eddie Stamper Jr., Benjamin Thompson
Webster: Bethany Anderson, Sydney Mollohan, Jakob Payne
Wetzel: Derrick Blain, Chase Miller, Carter Seckman
Wirt: Cammi Ferguson, Brady Ohrn
Wood: Lauren Adkins, Mary Bolton, Allison Currey, Donna Kincaid, Andrew Mommessin, Ethan Powers, Lilyan Wright
Wyoming: Rodney Cameron, Zachary McCoy, Bradley McKinney, Erika Osborne
West Virginia School for the Blind: Tyler Greene
West Virginia School for the Deaf: Kailey Minor
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