Record Twelve Hamilton Students Recognized in National Merit Competition

Photograph from Hamilton School District. Pictured from left: Kollin Buch, Patrick Wang, Abhinav Nalla, Shivansh Gautam, Eric Patch, Kaden Knauer, Vivian Walsh, Breckwyn Vande Hei, Dylan Frankovis, and Paul Steephen. Not pictured: Tobias Vera Paez and Vyas Karra

District Press Release:

Twelve Hamilton High School (HHS) students recently learned that they have been named in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program. Eligibility for the distinction is based on results of the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test which was taken by more than 1.2 million students nationwide.

This is a new school record for HHS, placing HHS 4th in the state for number of students recognized. Only Brookfield Central, Madison West and Middleton High Schools had more students named semifinalists.

“Only 250 high school students in the entire state of Wisconsin were named semifinalists,” explains Hamilton High School Principal Dominic Bauer. “Nine of those students are Hamilton seniors. We are very proud of the students who have earned this incredible distinction.”

The following nine HHS seniors were named semifinalists:

Kollin Buch

Dylan Frankovis

Shivansh Gautam

Eric Patch

Paul Steephen

Breckwyn Vande Hei

Tobias Vera Paez

Vivian Walsh

Patrick Wang

Nationwide, approximately 16,000 semifinalists were named and will continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship awards. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the students’ earlier test performance.

Approximately 34,000 students are recognized for exceptional academic promise nationwide, earning the title of commended. In Wisconsin, 164 students earned the title of commended.

The following three HHS seniors were named commended students:

Vyas Karra

Kaden Knauer

Abhinav Nalla

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), established in 1955, is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 260 business organizations, higher education institutions and individual donors to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.