PF's Cheeley a National Merit semifinalist

Gabriel Cheeley, of Post Falls, is on the National Merit Scholarship Program's list of Washington high school seniors who are 2012 program semifinalists.

Cheeley attends Oaks Classical Christian Academy in Spokane.

National Merit semifinalists rank among the top 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide, and represent the highest scorers in their state.

Of 16,000 national semifinalists, 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and in February they will be notified of the designation. As finalists, they will compete for scholarships.

Last week, The Press published a list of eight national semifinalists who attend schools in Kootenai County.