Winners were named in the VA250 Poster Contest during a reception held on Friday afternoon at the Bay School Community Arts Center in Mathews.

With more than 100 entries in the contest, there were 30 finalists, said VA250 representative Laura Jones, and judges found so many outstanding entries that they ended up naming six honorable mentions in addition to the three top places.

First place went to Nolen Swan for his tempera painting “Crossing the Delaware,” which represents when Washington and his crew crossed the Delaware River to fight for freedom during the Revolutionary War, except that the crew of the boat is composed of the state animal of each of the original 13 colonies.

In second place was Ellie Congrove’s mixed media piece, “America in Bloom,” portraying the back end of a vintage Ford truck filled with wild flowers. She said on her entry form that her papa had such a truck and that she hopes all people can relate to things like Fords.

The third-place winner was “What it Means to be an American” by Marley Brock, a tempera painting of a bald eagle symbolizing America, along with a milkshake to symbolize Richardson’s Diner, where the artist works, and a baseball and soccer ball representing the sports the artist plays.

Honorable mentions went to Grey Respress, Aine Zamanian, Bentlea Lawrence, Lauren Johnson, Mia Marrero and Savannah Bass.

An exhibit of the pieces will be installed at Mathews Memorial Library and will be on display for public viewing through July 4.