EVANSTON, Ill.—Seven Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Toledo have students among the semifinalists in the National Merit scholarship competition.

The semifinalists are: Abigail Statham, Fostoria St. Wendelin; Blaise Bradley, Mansfield St. Peter; Aaron Delong and Christopher Valentic, Toledo Central Catholic; Brigid Randolph, Toledo Notre Dame Academy; Justin Mrkva and Benjamin Spang, Toledo St. Francis de Sales; Curtis Clemens, Joshua Davies, Ethan Keating, Ian Keigley, Kevin Litzenberg and Alexander Zirbel, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit; and Kelly Clark and Madeline Irmen, Toledo St. Ursula Academy.

Blaise Bradley was also recognized as a semifinalist in the National Achievement Program, which recognizes academically promising black students throughout the nation in a privately financed competition that is conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Less than 1 percent of the U.S. high school seniors who took the qualifying test the fall of their junior year scored high enough to rank as semifinalists in these competitions.