Four Traverse City Central Seniors Named National Merit Finalists by TCAPS

Four seniors at Traverse City Central High School — Arthur Lijewski‑Lee, Alex Potrafke, Lillian Shev and Helly Taylor — were named National Merit semifinalists, per a Sept. 23 news release reported by local outlets. The announcement places the Central students among roughly 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program for 2026.

The Sept. 23 release said the semifinalists will compete for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships, and noted semifinalist recognition represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. Local coverage also states that more than 1.3 million juniors entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 PSAT/NMSQT, the exam that serves as the initial screen for National Merit consideration.

TCAPS Superintendent John VanWagoner praised the students in a district statement. “We are incredibly proud of these students for their academic achievements,” VanWagoner said. “Their hard work and dedication, combined with the commitment of our TCAPS K-12 staff, have distinguished them among their peers.” The district cited that these Central seniors now join a wider group of TCAPS students earning National Merit recognition this year.

Beyond the four Central semifinalists, 17 other TCAPS students were named National Merit Commended Scholars. Central High School commended scholars are Bridget Belden, Abigail Houghton, Raven Mead, Charlie Schwarz and Samuel Tursman. West Senior High School commended scholars are Tucker Ballenger, Owen Chadwick, Edward Chan, Jonah Dorsch, Jonas Heron, Graham Hetherington, Adeline Mulder, Brady Partlo, Katelyn Popp, Landon Rice, Trey Stewart and Owen Wohlfert.

The local announcement follows previous TCAPS National Merit news. A TCAPS release dated Feb. 21, 2024 named Alden King, Lucy Poppleton and Jackson Price from Traverse City Central High School and Gianna Primo from West Senior High School as Finalists in the 69th annual program, underscoring the district’s recurring presence in National Merit competitions.

The semifinalist designations recognize students’ PSAT/NMSQT performance and open a multi-step process toward scholarship awards. Per the Sept. 23 release, Central’s four semifinalists will continue in competition for National Merit scholarships later this year, while the 17 Commended Scholars are being recognized for scoring among the top 3 percent of PSAT/NMSQT test takers regionally and nationally.