These outstanding seniors represent the district's six comprehensive high schools — Dobson, Mesa, Mountain View, Red Mountain, Skyline and Westwood.

Semifinalist standing is based on scores from the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of the nation's high school seniors and include the highest scoring students in each state. They may choose to compete for finalist standing and the opportunity to be eligible for awards and scholarships.

The district has a longtime tradition of excellence in academics. MPS had 25 National Merit semifinalists last year and 18 the year before.

2010 semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program are:

Dobson High School
Avery Sorrell
Betty Hsu
Marilyn Li
Tianbi Yu

Mesa High School
Lincoln Belliston
Scott Meek
James Masciangelo

Mountain View High School
Matthew Brown
John Ernzen
Lauren Fine
Justin Gardiner
Jayme Gosney
Arianne Leavitt
Alice Lin
Kyle Nelson
Brianna Reiniger
Julia Rhieu
Tyler Searle
David Shockey
Michelle Wilkins

Red Mountain High School
Kayla Andersen
Nicole Borovkoff
Alexis Bramhall
Ashley Corkill
Porter James
Nathan Judd
Alex Liu

Skyline High School
Natalie Fuller

Westwood High School
Jacob Washburn