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AUSTIN, Texas—This fall, more than 200 seniors earned recognition for outstanding academic performance from the National Merit Scholarship Program, the National Hispanic Recognition Program and the National Achievement Scholarship Program. Eleven students earned recognition in more than one program.

Students are selected based on their scores on the preliminary SAT exam, which they take as juniors. Because of their high scores on this assessment, the students are eligible for scholarship awards from institutions of higher education and grantors.

"We congratulate these students for this remarkable achievement,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said. “This national recognition earned by these students brings honor to their schools and communities. It reminds us of our duty to continue to challenge and inspire students to perform at elevated levels so they are prepared for higher education and the workforce.”

The 212 recognized seniors include: eight National Achievement Scholarship finalists, 50 National Merit semifinalists, 51 National Hispanic scholars and 103 National Merit Commended students.

National Merit Program winners

Akins

National Hispanic scholars—Simon Mellnick

National Achievement Scholars—Caleb Christian Blackerby, Saundra Guillory

Semifinalists—Katie J. Holmes, Natalya Ponomareva, Daniel J. Smarda, Elena S. Teodorovich, Joshua Ethan Tomazin, Riley B. Trautman

National Hispanic scholars—Sophia Valeria Ajuria-Easterday, Natalie Marie Close, Samuel D. Croley, Marisa I. Hudson, Raquel Marie Key, Katherine Griss Kykta, Kassandra S. Martinez, Brian Christopher McCluskey, Evan Palmer Reyer, Rafael Joel Seroussi, Enzo Sebastian Soenen, Jorge G. Sosa, Layla Najib Wehbe

Commended—Paul M. Abkowitz, Abigail M. Adamo, Blake D. Allen, Neetika Bhargava, Jennifer Lynn Cabiya, Ashley L. Ciosek, ‘Claire E. Dollen, Ryan Cahill Gold, Hallie K. Green, Aaron Huy Ho, Raquel Marie Key, Matthew J. McDermott, John Joseph McDonald IV, Tanner Andrew Mierl, Carson Matthew Moore, Sarah Elizabeth Nielsen, Finley G. Patterson, Melissa Arlene Potts, Hannah Dorothy Rosenblatt, Enzo Sebastian Soenen, Katherine Elizabeth Walters, Travis Binford Weaver, Layla Najib Wehbe, Andrew Liam Whitman, Samuel MacKenzie Williams, Alec James Woodmansee

Ann Richards

National Hispanic scholars—Cassandra Garcia, Monica K. Herrera

Commended—Monica K. Herrera

Austin

Semifinalists—Avery Bell, Alison Scovell

National Hispanic scholars—Jose Ramirez, Matthew Salas, Madison Villarreal

Commended—Jesse A. Burnett, Patrick A. Condra, John M. Hawkins, Matthew J. Jones, Zachary Jones, Timothy D. Klitch, Lunden L. Little, Riley B. Longtain, James L. Nayden, Natalie B. Ownby, Peter C. Reipold, Sarah E. Stone, Zachary Waggoner, Connor D. Wilson

Bowie

Semifinalists—Alex Marx, Samantha Miller

National Hispanic scholars—Joseph Lewright, Belana Torres, David Senecal, Lauren Taylor

Commended— Justin Baker, Garrett S. Custer, Madison Hacking, Vanna Hovanky, Claire Lecornu, Olivia L. Martens, Katherine R. Middleton, Victor Hernandez-Rodriguez, Rachel Tarrant, Megan Tran, Megan Sweeney

Crockett

Commended—Megan Sweeney

Garza

Semifinalists—Peregrine Graham

LASA

National Achievement Scholars —Sara Greaves, Jasmine Bertram

Semifinalists—Anne Alexander, Miriam Alexander, Advaith Anand, Elijah Barrish, Sophie Blankenship, Douglas Cheong, Austen Conlon, Cameron Darwin, Chaarushena Deb, Sydney Doidge, Jonathan Dornhofer, Alex Freed, Maria Gilbert, Ishaan Golding, John Gonsoulin, Sara Greaves, Emma Hyams, Benjamin Jones, Gregory Lyons, Mason Markey, Ji-Woon Park, Serjin Park, Averi Perny, James Rodriguez, Yesha Shah, Sofia Shapiro, Alexander Shultz, Ryan Springer, Noah Stevens-Stein, Sam Suite, Madhumitha Venkataraman, Nathan Weiser, Ximone Willis, Jasmine Bertram

National Hispanic scholars—Sara Greaves, Breese Barnes, Jonathan Barron, Jackson Bradford, Andrea Canizares, Christina Diaz, Nathan Garcia, Marissa Hansen, Luis Jewell, Eduardo Longoria, Matthew Martinez, James Rodriguez, Sofia Shapiro, Gabriela Torres, Catherine Walters, Daniel Zimmerman, Baltazar Zuniga

Commended—Jasmine Bertram, Breese Barnes, Jackson Bradford, Christina Diaz, Eduardo Longoria, Baltazar Zuniga, Samuel Brown, Daniel G. Chen, Grant C. Colbert, Brian Z. Cui, Claudia Cutter, Evlin Du Bose, Katherine A. Gleason, Kendall R. Graham, Deborah M. Halllock, Natalie R. Hayhurst, Lisa R. Hsi, Anne C. Irvin, Adam R. Iscoe, Karl Johnson, Zolia A. Kahan, Clarissa J. Leight, Ronan Melomo, Anna P. Naim, Katherine A. Newton, Stephen E. Ngo, Rose H. Olwell, Emma C. Parker, Aniket Patel, Jesse R. Paterson, Willah A. Peers, Ariana G. Polgar, Campebell A. Pontin, Mayrose R. Porter, Christopher Prinz, George N. Rowland, Lucy M. Ryan, Arnav Sastry, Robert T. Schriber, Chanan D. Sessler, Theresa J. Steele, Calvin Stence, Scott A. Stevens, Joshua T. Stricker, Walter F. Taylor, Natalie Tsai, Grace K. Ware, Keivaun S. Waugh, Michael L. Zhou

LBJ

National Achievement Scholars—Tempra-Saje D. Watson-Carlisle

McCallum

National Achievement Scholars—Tafari Robertson

National Hispanic scholars—Mary Sanchez, Roberto Pellegrini, Juan Rodriguez, Daniel Sorto, Corina Santos, Elizabeth Campos

Commended— John T. Carse, Lauren A. Distler, Cohen C. Lewis-Hill, Jamison McMackin, Lianna K. Mills, Keith Mitchell, Aidan H. Moyers, Braden W. Pellowski, Madelyn A. Szilagyi-Jones, Tillie C. Walden, Camille G. Weizenbaum

Travis

National Hispanic scholars—Rio Esquivel, Viviana Martinez, Selena Montes