Eight Cherokee County area high school seniors were recently named 2013 National Merit semifinalists.

The designation, which is based on performance on the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, allows the students to compete for about 8,300 scholarships worth more than $32 million.

Cherokee's class of 2013 bested last year's graduating class, which had a total of seven semifinalists. Of that number, only three were enrolled in a school in Cherokee's district. The remaining four were in private school or homeschooled in Cherokee.

All eight of this year's semifinalists are Cherokee County School District students. Creekview High's Victoria L. Cochran, Etowah High's Alyssa K. Baker, Ahila Manivannan and Duncan M. Morgan, River Ridge High's Ian A. Donn and Connor X. Wilkinson and Woodstock High's Sara E. Graf and Elena E. Ruiz round out this year's list.

About 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools took the 2011 PSAT. About 16,000 were named National Merit semifinalists.

To earn finalist status, students must have a superior academic record, a recommendation from their principal and an SAT score that's equivalent to or higher than their PSAT score. They must also submit an application along with an essay.

About 15,000 semifinalists will become finalists in February. Scholarships winners will be announced in the spring.