NATIONAL LEVEL — Southern Middle School eighth-graders Haley Barker (left) and Elyssa Zimmerman are among select group of students from across North Carolina who have demonstrated mastery of a topic in history and are eligible to advance to the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland at College Park in June. The girls won second place for group exhibits at the state level with their project on the “Mona Lisa.” Willis Wichard (left), president of the North Caroliniana Society and Dr. Kevin Cherry (right), deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, presented the awards.