Sam Huneke’s interest in the Czech Republic’s “Triumph and Tragedy” paid off Thursday.

Huneke, who just graduated from Lawrence High School, earned The History Channel award and gold medal for best senior entry for an individual documentary at National History Day ceremonies in College Park, Md.

He also earned $5,000 in prize money.

“They waited to announce it near the end (of the ceremony). I jumped up and started yelling,” Huneke said in a phone interview from College Park.

Huneke, 18, began work on his documentary last August. Preliminary research led him to Czech history and its development of democracy. He focused on how the country handled democracy through the Great Depression and its effect on the country’s economy and culture. He also concentrated on how the Czechs were seen as a threat to Nazi expansion at the beginning of World War II.

Huneke gave his documentary the title “Democracy in the Heart of Europe: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Czechoslovak Republic.”

“I ended up settling on this because I thought there were greater triumphs and much more serious tragedies, especially during the Nazi takeover,” Huneke said. “It had a huge number of ramifications, not only for that time period but future generations and current generations in Eastern Europe.”

Among Huneke’s interviews were two Czechs who once lived in Prague. One of them is a Leavenworth woman, whom he interviewed on camera.

Huneke will attend Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., later this year. He said some of his money likely will help pay for college, where he’s planning to major in history.

This was the third year Huneke advanced to the national finals in the annual National History Day competition presented by National History Day Inc. Nearly 2,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and American Samoa participated.

Michael Ortman, Huneke’s history teacher, said he was delighted about the award. He commended Huneke’s depth of research and historical analysis.

“Sam worked so hard,” Ortman said. “He earned this award.”

Other students from LHS and Central Junior High School also participated in the competition.

Central students Zoe Limesand, Alyson Frydman and Liza Farr earned sixth place in best junior group documentary with “Cold Blooded Murder – The Tragedy of the Soweto Uprising; A Triumph Against the South African Apartheid.” Their teacher is Tai Perdue.