WHEELING — Local school officials expressed pride in students who were named to an elite list of nationwide semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship for 2021.

On Wednesday, the list of 16,000 semifinalists officially was announced for this academic year, with a total of eight students from local school districts in the Upper Ohio Valley among them.

A total of seven area schools were represented among the semifinalists. Those local students included two from Eastern Ohio — seniors Ayden King of St. Clairsville High School and Kelci McNeal of Bridgeport High School — as well as Adesh Urval of Wheeling Park High School, Kaichen Jin of The Linsly School, Liv Stoffel and Zara Zervos of John Marshall High School, Ethan Robey of Brooke High School and Presley Pierce of Paden City High School.

More than 1.5 million high school juniors in about 21,000 schools across the country entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official and write an essay.

Of the 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level in February, and all National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists.

Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

A total of 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million will be awarded next spring.

Bridgeport High School Principal Tom Daley described McNeal as a very hardworking student who is dedicated to her studies.

“She is very kind and caring — I don’t think Kelci has ever met an enemy,” Daley said. “She excels in all areas, but particularly enjoys English Language Arts courses. She is the vice president of her senior class. Kelci is a quiet leader who leads by example. She is also very humble about her academic achievements.”

Daley said Bridgeport High School has not had a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist since 2003.

“We at Bridgeport are very proud of Kelci and are very excited for her,” he said. “We support her throughout the rest of this competition and wish her the best of luck. No matter what the outcome, we are proud of the person Kelci is, and we are proud that Kelci is a Bulldog.”

King joins an elite group of students who have become National Merit Scholarship semifinalists representing St. Clairsville High School over the years.

“It’s quite an accomplishment, especially in light of the fact that you’re competing against other top students from across the country,” Walt Skaggs, superintendent of the St. Clairsville-Richland City School district, said. “It’s a tribute to Ayden’s hard work both in and out of the classroom, and it speaks highly of our teachers and staff here at St. Clairsville.”