A total of 132 Arkansas high school seniors are among 16,000 semifinalists announced recently in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship program.
The students are now eligible to continue in the competition for about 7,500 scholarships, worth more than $31 million, that will be awarded next spring. More than 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists in the competition and about half of the finalists will win National Merit Scholarships.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp. was established in 1955 to conduct the competition. The corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance.
The Arkansas semifinalists and their high schools follow, listed by city alphabetically.
AMITY
Ouachita Hills Academy: Lorensa C. Nieves.
BEEBE
Beebe High School: Thomas J. Raymond.
BENTON
Benton High School: Elizabeth J. Dorman.
BENTONVILLE
Bentonville High School: Lilian S. Agnacian, Solomon A. Berry, Malia S. Camacho, Samuel I. Ellgass, Trevor R. Fogleman, Arjun Krishna, Megan Y. Sattler, Mikayla D. Shefchik, Khushi S. Taori, Maddox A. Townsend.
Haas Hall Academy: Georgina L. Woodworth.
Homeschool: Katrianna E. Sarkar.
Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy: Grant A. Reader.
BRYANT
Bryant High School: Rachel Beza-Juarez, Charles L. Mortensen, Kevin Weng.
CABOT
Cabot High School: Claire E. Tebbutt.
CENTERTON
Bentonville West High School: Nayan R. Paul.
CONWAY
Conway High School: Hunter Fleming, Mary K. Freyaldenhoven, Jovoni O. Johnson, Kendon C. Moline, Archer A. Murray, Abigail R. Oudekerk.
FAYETTEVILLE
Fayetteville High School: Chloe A. Bowen, Josephine F. Crouch, Cora L. Ferguson, Shirshak Gautam, James F. Hall, Carson R. Haller, Jackson P. Heck, Albert Y. Ko, Paul S. Lefforge, Austin Q. Liu, Foster T. Matlock, Kexin Meng, Ethan M. Peters, Kyrie Potter, Sheil D. Sharma, Isaac Smith, Spencer L. Walker, Brendan Wolf, Grayson W. Young.
Haas Hall Academy: Seylor N. Cluck, Nicholas C. Collyge, Caroline R. Dastugue, Garrett B. Grisso, Josephine M. Matalone, Hamaad W. Mehal, Mollie R. Nichols, Carson D. Riggs, Katherine N. Upchurch.
FORT SMITH
Southside High School: Ryan S. Beallis, Vinh H. Nguyen, Madelene C. Riche'.
GREEN FOREST
Green Forest High School: Trinity McMahan.
GREENBRIER
Greenbrier High School: Braden P. Jerry.
GREENWOOD
Greenwood High School: Julia K. Brixey, Abby Denison, Tyler L. Merreighn.
HARRISON
Harrison High School Conversion Charter School: Blake J. Whitmer.
HOT SPRINGS
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts: Andrew L. Astre, Hazel S. Disney-McKeethen, Blake D. Jefferson, Arthur A. Kaye, Kendele J. Kramer, Jade Ma, Noah B. Raby, Rachel E. Stall.
Lakeside High School: Noah J. McClanahan.
JONESBORO
The Academies at Jonesboro High School: Maggie Xu.
Valley View High School: Sean A. Roades.
LITTLE ROCK
Baptist Preparatory School: Austin Crook.
Catholic High School for Boys: Alexander C. Bromley, Sullivan W. Fitz.
Central High School: Keira G. Boop, Alexander Han, Ross M. Kimbrell, Katherine G. Taylor, Eric A. Williams, Grace Xiang, Michelle L. Xu.
Episcopal Collegiate School: Boyd Bethel, Kenzie B. MacNicol, James Martin, Ethan D. Strauss.
eStem High Charter School: Hannah M. Robertson, Claudia C. Smith.
Lisa Academy: Elizabeth G. Durand.
Little Rock Christian Academy: Trinity A. Abdulkhalik, Caroline E. Blanscet, Matthew T. DiLeo, Luke G. Hankins, Justin B. Patty, Luke M. Weiner.
Mount St. Mary Academy: Anna K. Manchester, Agnes Rebekah D. Ureta.
Pulaski Academy: Laurel C. Black, Genrietta E. Churbanova, Elizabeth Ford.
MAGNOLIA
Magnolia High School: Mariah G. Guevara.
MALVERN
Malvern High School: Nathan A. Cowling.
MENA
Mena High School: Christopher M. Thompson.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
Central Arkansas Christian School: Faith C. Elder, Luke H. McClanahan.
OZARK
Ozark High School: Isabella G. Faulkenberry.
PANGBURN
Pangburn High School: Colby L. Free, Zenic I. Rice.
PARAGOULD
Paragould High School: Jackson C. Parker.
PEARCY
Lake Hamilton High School: Jordan C. Erickson.
POCAHONTAS
Pocahontas High School: Taylor Kingery.
ROGERS
Arkansas Arts Academy: Noah B. Hamby.
Providence Classical Christian Academy: Eli C. Jackson.
Rogers High School: Alisa A. Chatlani, Nathan P. Skinner.
Rogers Heritage High School: Adam R. Siwiec.
Rogers New Technology High School: Dean B. Priest.
RUSSELLVILLE
Russellville High School: Lauren M. Gwaltney, Noah Smith.
SEARCY
Searcy High School: Jackson T. Benight.
SHERWOOD
Sylvan Hills High School: Andrew Ponder, Jacob Ponder, Kyra R. Welch.
SILOAM SPRINGS
Siloam Springs High School: Monia N. Maxwell.
SPRINGDALE
Har-Ber High School: Jackson T. Black, Austin T. Todd, Sojas Wagle.
WEST MEMPHIS
West Memphis High School: Michael Skjefte.
WHITE HALL
White Hall High School: Justin R. Dady.
About 1.6 million high school juniors initially entered the 2019 competition by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. They are the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Metro on 09/18/2018