Twenty-four Lake Washington School District students were selected as finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition, the district announced Feb. 28.

Of the 24, five were from Sammamish. Finalists included Samantha Moynihan of Eastlake High School, Kartik Iyer of the International Community School, Sophia Chang and Falak Daud of Redmond High School and Varsha Veeramachaneni of Tesla STEM High School.

Four students from Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish were also named National Merit Scholarship finalists. Those recognized were Woodinville resident Andrew Charters, Sammamish resident Alexandra Galiotto, Duvall resident Samuel Glaze and Snoqualmie resident Paul Riddle.

Glaze was also named a Presidential Scholar candidate by the Department of Education. The Presidential Scholars program recognizes the academic achievements of graduating high school students. The recognition is one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students, with up to 161 students named Presidential Scholars each year.

As National Merit finalists, students are qualified to receive National Merit Scholarships, including $2,500 awards, corporate-sponsored scholarships or college-sponsored scholarships. About 15,000 students nationally have been named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition.

Students qualified for scholarship awards by completing the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

For the full list of finalists from the Lake Washington School District, visit www.lwsd.org.

This article was updated to specify that Samuel Glaze was named a Presidential Scholar candidate, not a Presidential Scholar. The Reporter regrets the error.