Wantagh High-School Senior Named As National Merit Semifinalist

WANTAGH, NY — A Wantagh High School senior has been named one of the nation's 16,000 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists in the 66th annual competition.

The Wantagh School District announced Tuesday that Margaret Gates earned the distinction and will compete for one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships, which altogether total more than $30 million. Those names will be announced in the spring.

Additionally, seniors Austin Henglein, Caden Ireland, Anjelica Meagher and Jack Thiry were named National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Students in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Commended students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, they can become candidates for special corporate and business scholarships.

The students entered the competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

The district congratulated all the students on their accomplishment and extended its best wishes to Margaret for success moving forward in the competition.