National Merit Recognizes 66 Seniors

Thirty-five Marksmen from the Class of 2026 have been recognized as National Merit Semifinalists, the largest number in St. Mark’s history. This distinction places these young men among the top 1% of high school students nationwide. Out of more than 1.3 million entrants across 20,000 U.S. high schools, only 16,000 students advanced to semifinalist standing based on their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT from the prior school year. An additional 31 seniors were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program as Commended Scholars, placing them among the top 50,000 seniors in the nation. 

“Becoming a National Merit Semifinalist is a highly selective honor and a credit to the dedication, commitment, and academic preparation of these Marksmen and their teachers. Striving for excellence in and out of the classroom is an important part of the journey toward manhood and helps prepare our students for a life of meaning, substance, and positive impact,” said Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini.

Congratulations to the following St. Mark’s seniors from the Class of 2026 who have been named as Semifinalists: Diego Armendariz, Max Bean, Samuel Blumenthal, Matthew Bosco, Christian Denis, Joshua Goforth, Sebastian Gonzalez, Reagan Graeme, Kevin Ho, Kevin Hong, Everett Jin, Justin Kim, Ronit Kongara, William Kozoman, Aryaman Lahoti, Michael Larson, Andrew Liu, Nathan Macktinger, Charles McCoin, Jacob McKinney, Ariyan Mishra, Mateen Mostafavipour, Spenser New, Doan Nguyen, Neil Rakheja, Ailesh Sadruddin, Tarik Syed, Aamir Tinwala, Whit Turner, Christian Warner, Andrew Ye, Andrew Zhang, Eric Zhang, Kayden Zhong, Andrew Zierk.

Congratulations to the following seniors who have been named as Commended Scholars: Tejas Allada, Marshall Bagley, Ekaksh Bansal, Riggs Bean, Sanjay Bohil, Andrew Browne, Weston Chance, Hudson Da Rosa, Matthew DaSilva, Jake Deboever, Derek Edwards, Christopher Guffey, Cooper Guiler, Enzo Henry, Benjamin Hernandez, Nathaniel Hochman, Rohan Kakkar, Dilan Koganti, Andy Li, Winston Lin, Jonathan Lobel, David McAtee, Benjamin Standefer, Adam Tahirkheli, Ronen Verma, Andrew Wallace, Anderson Wang, Ethan Wang, Richard Wang, Brady Wyatt, and Michael Yang.

“This distinction reflects not only these boys’ exceptional academic achievement but also their dedication, curiosity, and resilience in pursuit of excellence,” said Veronica Pulido, Al G. Hill, Jr. ’63 Director of College Counseling. “These young men represent high standards of scholarship at St. Mark’s, and we are incredibly proud of the hard work and intellect that have brought them to this milestone.”

Beyond the recognition, this accomplishment reflects the School’s mission: to prepare young men for not only academic success but also lives of leadership and service. Achievements such as this are a testament to the collaborative strength of students, families, and faculty who together sustain St. Mark’s tradition of excellence.