(COVINGTON, La.) — Davis Lagarde, Lucca Ferrante, Trey Paine, Axel Henderson, Brady Talley, Hunter Kergosien, Gabe Gros, Ben Broussard and Jake Holincheck were recently named National Merit Semi-Finalists. These are students who score in the top 1% of the nation on the PSAT. Only 16,000 students nationwide earn this title.

Vageli Liokis, Cole Piazza, Aiden Plauche and Thomas Woodard were named National Merit commended students, placing in the top 3% on the PSAT. They will not be in competition for National Merit Scholarships, but they receive a letter of commendation as a reward for their academic promise. 34,000 of these students are named a year.

2020 is the first year St. Paul’s has held a class for potential National Merit candidates. “The guys came in the summer two nights a week and took tests on Saturdays,” Counselor Christine Woodard said. “We are very pleased with this kind of result with our own teachers doing the class.”