All ACPS National Merit semifinalists reach finalist status for 2026

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – All sixteen of the Alachua County Public Schools students who were recognized as semifinalists in the prestigious 2026 National Merit Scholarship program have now been named finalists. Fewer than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors have earned that recognition. 

About 1.5 million students took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as juniors during the last school year, with 16,000 earning semifinalist status based on their performance on that exam.

To become finalists, those students had to submit applications highlighting their other academic achievements, awards and honors earned, leadership activities, teacher recommendations, and an essay.

The ACPS finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship program are:

Buchholz High School: Annika Caedington, Pranay Gadikota, Shailey Karri, Evan Rotchford, and Keith Zheng;

Eastside High School: Francheska Melendez, Irma Rahman, Juhyung Seong, and Miles Smith;

Gainesville High School: Rowan Archer, Lina Dos Santos, Madeleine Goodrich, Irma Impink, and Elizabeth Rant;

Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School: Logan Rockwell;

Santa Fe High School: Robert Hu.