Three local students are semifinalists for the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Adel DeSoto Minburn’s Logan Cahalan, Greene County’s John Mobley and Panorama’s Benjamin R. Marwedel made the list of 16,000 semifinalists in the program.

The students have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 scholarships worth around $33 million.

Around 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to become finalists and half of the finalists will earn the Merit Scholar title and receive a scholarship.

Semifinalists represent less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors.  Finalists will be announced in February.