The Black River Falls High School community gathered on Wednesday, April 29, to honor the outstanding academic achievements of the Class of 2026. Held at 6 P.M. in the High School Commons, the Laude Honors Banquet served as a special evening to recognize students who have demonstrated a deep commitment to academics throughout their high school careers.

The event featured a celebratory dinner, a message from Principal Kim Penza, and the formal presentation of awards to the honorees.

The evening highlighted three levels of academic distinction: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude. Seventeen students were recognized with Cum Laude honors, including Jasmine Alderton, Samantha Blazek, Madison Foster, Nathan Gargulak, Chloe Hawley, Toby Hovland, Esat Imeri, Kendall Kampen, Austin Lund, Grace Roskos, Jadon Severson, Lexy Sylvester, Alexandra Wensel, Jason Williams, Kaylee Wood. and Jacob Wortman.

These students represent a significant portion of the class dedicated to maintaining high standards.

The Magna Cum Laude distinction was awarded to five students who achieved an even higher level of academic success. This year’s recipients included Evelyn Bolger, Cole Gearing, Calvin Lakowske, Amelia Moses, and Lee Thompson.

Following these presentations, the highest honor of the night, Summa Cum Laude, was awarded to sixteen students. Among those receiving this top honor were Christopher Antonelli, Greta Bakken, Morgan Berg, Samantha Berra, Anton Cassidy, Anna Janowski, Aidan Krista, Maleki Lee, Roman Madvig, Grady Meek, Henry Meek, Libby Moldenhauer, Nicholas Reese, Hannah Tubbs, Reece Youngthunder, and Owen Zenz.