Sixteen-year-old Timmia Hearn Feldman loves theater. And history.

So competing in the National History Day Competition was a natural fit for her.

Even so, Feldman never thought she’d take home a gold medal. And she definitely didn’t think she’d ever accept an award live on The History Channel.

“I was thinking there’s no way in the world I can win first. It just can’t happen. … I just heard, ‘First place from Lawrence, Kansas,’ and I just started screaming,” she recalled.

Last month, Kansas students swept the National History Day national competition in College Park, Md., to win 21 percent of the awards at stake.

At the national competition, middle and high school students compete in one of seven categories. Every state sends two teams to compete in each category.

Teams are judged on their historical quality and how they analyze and interpret history, among other things.

Feldman, a junior at Lawrence High School, took first place in Senior Individual Performance. That makes her the first Lawrence student to win on the national level in that competition.

Timmia Feldman performs as Elizabeth I in the 2006 National History Day Competition. Her performance earned her a gold medal and ,000.

Sam Huneke, a Lawrence High senior, has competed for four years and made it to nationals twice. His documentary, “The Vote that Saved the Country: Edmund Ross’s Stand for Democracy,” was the 2006 Jamestown Award Winner.

Huneke said all the competitors from LHS had at least one parent come to Maryland for the competition.

“In general, it just seems like the parents are really into it. They don’t try to make it their project or their competition, but they’re definitely supportive about their kids doing it,” Huneke said, adding that the bond between competitors, teachers and, of course, parents, is tight.

Serina Hearn, Feldman’s mother, said Lawrence needs more teachers willing to encourage students to compete in the National History Day competition. And, she added, it would be nice for these academic warriors to get a little more recognition.

“If the football team wins, there’s a huge drama. … School newspapers have pages for sports. There’s no one standing up and shouting because it’s academia,” Hearn said.

Huneke said most students who compete at National History Day see the research and analytic thinking they do for their projects as a way to prepare for college.

Feldman’s performance, “I Have the Heart and the Stomach of a King: Queen Elizabeth I Taking a Stand in a Man’s World,” took her about 10 months to develop.

At the beginning of the school year, Feldman chose her topic. Then she delved into research. She interviewed British historians by phone and read several books on Elizabeth I. She even wrote and revised her own script and practiced to perfect her English accent.

During the performance, Feldman paced across the stage in an Elizabethan gown, a scarlet wig and a powdered face. As Elizabeth, she debated with God, the audience and herself about what to do about the incoming Spanish Armada.

The rest, as they say, is history – Elizabeth went on to defeat the Armada, and Feldman took gold.

Now, she said she’s considering next year’s topic. She may portray Sarah Winnemucca, the legendary Native American who fought for the rights of her people.

But first, Feldman said, she needs to do a little more research.