Five Ward Melville Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

Congratulations to five Ward Melville High School seniors who were named semifinalists in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program - Ted Li, Julien Maurer, Michael Retakh, Tina Xing, and Eric Zhong.

Over 1.3 million juniors in approximately 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

“We are tremendously proud of our five semifinalists. Each of them exemplifies academic excellence, and it is truly rewarding to see their dedication and hard work recognized in such a prestigious competition,” said Ward Melville High School Principal John Holownia.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. “We wish them the very best as they continue through the next stages of the process,” said Holownia.