28 Sarasota Students are National Merit Semifinalists

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists, including 28 seniors from Sarasota County public high schools, in the 57th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for about 8,300 National Merit Scholarships valued at more than $34 million.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must meet several requirements to advance to the finalist level, the release said. About 15,000 of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing; those who do will be notified in February 2012. More than half of those finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

According to the district, about 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

National Merit Scholarship semifinalists from Sarasota County public schools:

Booker High School

• Robert Eginton

Homeschool

• Alexandra Lasley

Pine View School

• William Asselstine

• Anna Beatty

• Caroline Bowman

• Ann Brasacchio

• Conor Davenport

• Chloe Dietrich

• Haley Eiffert

• Jonathan Fischler

• Andrew Foster

• Jennifer Fryer

• Matthew Gilson

• Andrew Grass

• Anthony Grebe

• Maxfield Hayes

• Rebecca Jannou

• Marissa Korn

• Alexandra Krongel

• Thomas Marryott

• Ryan McKinney

• Kegan McNutt

• Nicholas Pasternack

• Kenneth Smith

• Madison Spahn

• Luke Tiner

• Luke Winger

Riverview High School

• Bailey Pecor

• Joshua Timmons