Springfield Area National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Named

Five Springfield high school seniors have been named semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The semifinalists, announced Wednesday, are from Springfield Catholic High School and Central and Glendale high schools in Springfield Public Schools. They are:

Margaret Duff, Springfield Catholic High School
Matteo Francis, Central High School
Grace Luo, Central High School
Emma Schrag, Glendale High School
Lilly Williams, Central High School

Additionally, seniors from five Springfield area high schools were also named semifinalists. They include:

Noah Blaine, Fordland High School
Colin Kuger, Stafford High School
Gretchen House, Logan-Rogersville High School
Braden Highfill, Spokane High School
Gabriel Wheeler, Ozark High School

As semifinalists, seniors are eligible to continue competing for approximately 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth an estimated $26 million that will be awarded this spring.

Approximately 95% of semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist status, with half of them expected to win a National Merit Scholarship.

More than 1.3 million first-year students from 21,000 high schools participated in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Preliminary Qualifying Test (SAT). The number of semifinalists in each state is based on the state’s percentage of graduating seniors nationwide.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application that includes academic record, school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. It must be approved by a high school official and must complete an essay.

Three types of scholarships will be offered this spring: $2,500 scholarships, corporate-sponsored excellence scholarships and university-sponsored excellence scholarships. Recipients will be announced from April to July.