Fifteen students from six Anne Arundel County public high schools—including three from South River—were recently named semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship competition.

South River’s Alexandra Bartlett, Amelia Hallworth and Jun Lee were selected from more than 1.5 million juniors among nearly 22,000 high schools who scored highly on the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, according to an Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) release.

Last year, South River's William Ewing received a college-sponsored scholarship from Case Western University as one of 4,800 to earn financial aid from the national organization.

Students from Annapolis, Arundel, Broadneck, Old Mill and Severna Park high schools also received the national recognition, making them eligible as finalists in the competition.

“Half of our clusters are represented on this year’s list. It’s a clear sign that the success of our students is far reaching,” AACPS Superintendent Kevin Maxwell said in the release. “I am proud of these students for their diligence in their studies—they are now reaping the benefits of their hard work.”

The release stated that about 90 percent of the semifinalists will advance to “finalist” status based on their academic record, SAT performance and principal recommendations. Once officially a finalist, local students will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500 each.

Additionally, about 1,000 corporate-sponsored merit scholarship awards will be given throughout the country along with another 4,800 college-sponsored awards provided by nearly 200 colleges and universities, according to the release.

Below is a complete list of National Merit Scholarship semifinalists at Anne Arundel County public high schools.

Annapolis High

• Sarah Baker
• Cailin Oakes
• Samantha Poyer

Arundel High

• Katherine Langdon

Broadneck High

• Bridget Derksen
• Evan Uthus

Old Mill High

• Xuefei Nou
• Daniel Shade
• Eric Stoker-Spirt

Severna Park High

• Julia Downing
• Eric Manning
• Michelle Nie

South River High

• Alexandra Bartlett
• Amelia Hallworth
• Jun Lee