Chris Euerle and Michaela Cunningham, both Severna Park High School juniors, are among the finalists in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship competition.

The two were named semifinalists in September and were among 13 students from five Anne Arundel County public high schools. The two local teens were selected from 1.5 million juniors from 22,000 high schools across the country for the 2011 competition, according to a press release from Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS).

The finalists are competing for one of 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500 each that will be awarded on a state representational basis with notifications in the mail between March and June, according to the website.

As reported on Severna Park Patch in September, Michaela is not only an outstanding student, she also swims and helps coach the Shipley's Choice swim team. She swims for the SPY national swim team and is also a member of the National Honor Society and the SPHS Math Team.

She's also a Red Cross volunteer at the Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center at Fort George G. Meade.

"It's really satisfying to know that hard work pays off. It's a huge honor to be recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and I'm incredibly happy to advance in the competition," Michaela said.  

Chris has a GPA of 4.49 and is a new member of the school's It's Academic team and is also in the National Honor Society.

Chris has his sights set high when it comes to college, he's looking at his options to include the University of Maryland, Duke, UNC, Harvard, MIT and Johns Hopkins University.