Twenty-two of the Worthington City School District's brightest students learned last week that they have been named National Merit semifinalists.

They are among 16,000 high school seniors nationwide who qualified for the honor based on their performance in the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.

The 17 semifinalists at Thomas Worthington represent the largest number in the history of that school.

They are Amelia Noble, Tyler Johnson, Harris Li, Robin Taxier, Jenny (Jingjing) Chen, David Roos, Julie Zorb, Kevin Nowland, Michael Meyer, Erica Evans, Gordy Sjostrom, Sara Itagaki, Leah Itagaki, Lukas Moe, Parik Arulalan, Hao Zhu and Julie Rechel.

The Worthington Kilbourne semifinalists are Ambrose C. Wu, Jon Jekeli, Taylor Castelli, Dan Giannamore, and Dimitri Khrakovsky.

* Noble is the daughter of Mary Ann Martello and Chris Noble.

She is on the swim team and water polo team and takes part in Model United Nations. She is on the Leadership Worthington student advisory board and is a Special Olympics coach.

Noble would like to be a doctor or engineer and is considering attending Williams, Middlebury or Kenyon colleges.

* Johnson is the son of Kevin and Christine Johnson.

He is on the swimming and water polo teams, student council, and takes part in Model United Nations.

He would like to attend Dartmouth, Cornell or Yale and study medicine.

* Li is the son of Keli and Ping Li.

His activities include student council, Model United Nations, Science Olympiad, Students Active for the Environment (SAFE), Community Service Club, Student Substance Abuse Prevention Program (SSAPP) and Math Club.

He plays in the pit orchestra at school and in the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO) and the Ohio South-Central Region Orchestra.

He would like to attend Princeton and is interested in a career with the United Nations.

* Taxier is the daughter of Michael and Barbara Taxier.

She is involved in SAFE, In the Know, Spanish National Honor Society, Community Service Club, Math Club and orchestra.

She plays in the CSYO and the Chamber Music Connection, and takes cello and piano lessons.

She would like to attend Ohio State University or Oberlin and study music or psychology.

* Chen is the daughter of Zhixiong Chen and Shengying Bao.

She is involved in Science Olympiad, marching band, French Club, Model United Nations, Cards for Kids, and Math Club and is a student host and freshman mentor.

She would like to attend Yale or the University of Washington in St. Louis and study science or medicine.

* Julie Zorb is the daughter of Glenn and Sue Zorb.

She is in the marching band and is involved in mock trial, student council, Model United Nations, Partners for Citizenship and Character, library teen advisory board and Bible Bowl.

She would like to attend Notre Dame, Northwestern, or Tufts and study law.

* Nowland is the son of Mahlon Nowland and Cindy Mona Ginsberg.

He in on the cross country and track teams, student council and Model United Nations.

He would like to attend Stanford, Pomona, or Duke and become a physicist or a coach.

* Meyer is the son of Nickie and Joe Meyer.

He is on the varsity tennis team and involved in Math Club, Science Olympiad and Mindsponge, the school Web site. He also works as an administrative assistant to a tutoring program.

He would like to attend MIT, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois or OSU. He would like to become a molecular biologist or software engineer.

* Evans is the daughter of Gretchen and Lee Evans.

She is on the softball team, in the marching band, and on the Student Athletic Leadership Board.

She would like to attend Kenyon, Oberlin or Depauw and study education.

* Sjostrom is the son of Joe and Tami Sjostrom.

He is on the golf and lacrosse teams and in the choir.

He would like to attend OSU or Miami and become an engineer.

* Sara Itagaki is a daughter of Lisa Gichner and Haruhiko Itagaki.

She is involved with Science Olympiad, Community Service Club, SAFE and Cards for Kids, and participates in dance outside of school.

She would like to attend Yale, Carleton or Swarthmore to prepare for a career in science or mathematics.

* Leah Itagaki is a daughter of Lisa Gichner and Haruhiko Itagaki.

She is involved in SAFE, Science Olympiad, Community Service Club, Cards for Kids and math competitions. She is involved in dance outside of school.

She would like to attend Yale, Carleton, Swarthmore, Smith, Macalester, Grinnell or Dartmouth. She is undecided about a career.

* Moe is the son of John Moe and Paula Baker.

He is on the soccer and baseball teams, plays in the orchestra and is involved in Model United Nations.

He would like to attend Cornell, Princeton, Kenyon or Indiana and is considering a career in political science, journalism or social science.

* Arulalan is the son of Sudha Arulalan and Arulalan Dasarathan.

He is involved in In The Know and science fair.

He would like to attend OSU, Michigan or Brown and become a pediatrician or a lawyer.

* Zhu is the son of Qianzheng Zhu and Mingzhu Liu.

He is on the cross country team and takes part in mock trial and SAFE.

He would like to attend Brown, University of Chicago or Johns Hopkins and become a lawyer or a philosopher.

* Wu is the son of Jeffrey Wu and Eunice Wu.

He is involved in In The Know, pit orchestra, Science Olympiad, tennis, theater, mock trials, Archery Club and Interact.

He plays violin and composes music and volunteers at the Grant Medical Center operating rooms.

He would like to attend Case Western, Brown, Rice, OSU or Columbia and become a physician.

* Jekeli is the son of Chris and Roberta Jekeli.

He is involved in volleyball, basketball and Math Club.

He would like to attend Duke or Miami and study computer science.

* Castelli is the son of Gene and Ellen Castelli.

He is on the cross country and wrestling teams and on student council.

He would like to attend West Point, Miami or Washington University to prepare for a career in politics and the military.

* Giannamore is the son of Marty and Michelle Giannamore.

He is on the wrestling team and on student council.

He would like to attend the University of Virginia, the University of Richmond or Wake Forest and work for the FBI or be a history professor.

* Khrakovsky is the son of Alex and Julia Khrakovsky.

He is on the tennis team and involved in theater and Science Olympiad.

He would like to attend OSU, Carnegie Mellon, or Michigan State to prepare for a career in bioengineering research.