Lux-Casco senior Rylen Hinckley named National Merit Semifinalist

Will now compete for nearly $26M in scholarship funds nationwide to be awarded next spring

LUXEMBURG, Wis. – Luxemburg-Casco High School student Rylen Hinckley has been named as a Semifinalist in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. He now will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships, worth nearly $26 million, that will be offered next spring.

More than 1.3 million juniors in roughly 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The nationwide pool of 16,000-plus Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

Rylen Hinckley is the son of Debra Kaye and stepson of Jeremy Kaye of Luxemburg.

“We applaud Rylen for being one of the top academic performers in the United States,” says L-C High School Principal Tyson Tlachac. “He is an excellent representative of the high academic standards of the Luxemburg-Casco School District.”

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. These include submission of a detailed scholarship application that includes information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

Students who advance to the Finalist level will be notified in February 2026. The National Merit scholarship winners of 2026 will be announced in four nationwide press releases from April through July of next year.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 300 business organizations, higher-education institutions and individual donors that share the NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.