4 sharp Tri-City students named National Merit semifinalists with $26M on the line
Four Tri-City high school seniors have been named 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists after earning superior marks on a college entrance exam.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the list of 16,000 academically talented seniors. That also includes 390 across Washington state.
These students will have the opportunity to become finalists and compete in the spring for nearly 7,000 scholarships worth a combined $26 million. About 389,000 distinguished students have previously earned the distinction of being a National Scholar.
Pasco School District
- David Murphy of Delta High School
Richland School District
- Emma Yuan of Hanford High School
- Cameron Hornell of Richland High School
- Victor Petyuk of Richland High School
- Dylan Trigg of Richland High School
The students became semifinalists during their junior year by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT test, which serves as an initial screener of National Merit program entrants.
More than 1.3 million students across 20,000 high schools took the test.
“The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state,” a program announcement reads. “The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.”
To be considered for a National Merit scholarship, students must fulfill several requirements to become a finalist.
That includes submitting a detailed application package that includes their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, honors and awards.
Students also must write an essay, be endorsed by a high school employee, and confirm their smarts through an additional SAT or ACT test score.
About 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists are expected to become finalists and will be notified in February.
Three types of National Merit scholarships will be offered in spring: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships, 830 corporate-sponsored scholarships, and 3,600 scholarships sponsored by colleges and universities for students to attend.
Between April and July, the National Merit corporation will make four announcements naming winners.
This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM.
