Beachwood High School Celebrates 11 National Merit Semifinalists

BEACHWOOD, OH – Beachwood High School continues to set a high bar for academic excellence with a record 11 students from the Class of 2026 earning recognition as National Merit Semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship program. With 133 seniors in this year’s class, this achievement places Beachwood High School among an elite group of high schools throughout the country with such a high percentage of students honored in a single graduating class.

The Semifinalists - Dotan Dana, Charlotte Doughty, Karina Krishnan, Leo Kuenzler, Jiahe Liu, Shamith Murthy, Aliaksei Sharakou, Anna Tonyushkin, Junbo Wang, Leo Wang, and Tony Zheng - will now advance to the next stage of the competition with a chance to become National Merit Finalists. Students advancing to the Finalist stage are eligible to compete for scholarships totaling nearly $30 million, which will be awarded in the spring.

“We are thrilled to see so many of our students recognized as National Merit Semifinalists,” said Beachwood High School Principal Paul Chase. “These achievements reflect not only their hard work and dedication, but also the commitment of our teachers and the support of their families. This is a proud moment for the Beachwood community.”

Additional recognitions, including National Merit Commended Scholars and other merit honors, are scheduled to be announced later this week.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition that begins with the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), taken by approximately 1.3 million students each year. Of those, roughly 16,000 students advance to Semifinalist standing based on their academic record, extracurricular involvement, leadership, and a personal essay. Those who advance to the Finalist stage will then compete for 2,500 National Merit Scholarships, which will be awarded in the spring.