Three seniors in the Renton School District have been recognized for their academic achievement as National Merit Scholar semifinalists.

Renton High School’s Jordan Bowens and Lindbergh High’s Jason Hennig and Monique Smith are among 16,000 students nationwide to be named semifinalists for National Merit scholarships.

This means that the three students are among the top scorers on the 2012 Preliminary SAT or PSAT and represent fewer than 1 percent of the 1.5 million high school students in the nation’s private and public high schools who took the test, a district release stated.

To continue in the competition, the students must maintain an excellent academic record, earn top SAT scores and submit an essay about leadership and community activities.

National Merit finalists will be named this spring and summer.