Four RSD Students Named National Merit Semifinalists for 2026

We are excited to announce that four of our outstanding high school students have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the prestigious 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. This significant achievement places them among the top high school scholars across the United States, recognizing their outstanding academic achievements.

Emma Yuan from Hanford High School and Cameron Hornell, Victor Petyuk, and Dylan Trigg from Richland High School earned the recognition by being in the top 1% of students nationwide who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). They make up four of the five National Merit Semifinalists from the Tri-Cities area.

To become National Merit Finalists and potentially receive National Merit Scholarships, these students will now complete a comprehensive scholarship application, which includes writing an essay, providing detailed information about their academic records, extracurricular activities, and community involvement, and obtaining recommendations from a school official. National Merit Finalists will be announced in the spring of 2026.

The district also had several commended scholars recognized. Commended Students show an exceptional academic promise, which is demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the PSAT. These students include Hanford High students Lily Deng, Maxwell Genetti, Riley Kovacs, Alvin Liu, Sonali Santosh, Madeline Pratt, Sophie Chen, Elizabeth Liu, Ethan Mak, Matthew Maloney, Tiffany Qian, and Rourke Heising; and Richland High School students Ty Barber, Jonathan Chang, Noah Howland, Soban Malik, Ethan Shan, Ryan Stodick, and Srithan Thallapally.