Kingfisher High School senior Cayman Matson was named the seventh National Merit Scholarship semifinalist in the history of the school last week.

Matson, the son of Drs. Rob and Lisa Matson, is one of approximately 16,000 semifinalists named nationwide for the prestigious honor, announced last week by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

He was selected from among more than 1.5 million high school juniors who took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last year.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists includes the top scorers on the exam and represents less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors.

Matson is a member of both National and Oklahoma honor societies and the National Youth Leadership Forum and attended Stanford University Summer College.

He participates in cross country, is academic team captain and a member of Gender-Sexuality Alliance.

He also participates in Kingfisher Community Theatre.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Cayman,” KHS counselor Paula Leffingwell said. “I consider Cayman to be an extraordinary young man who challenges himself every day.

“His potential in college and beyond with his talents, leadership and responsibility are limitless.”

About 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level, which will be announced in February.

All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from that group of finalists based on skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Matson and other semifinalists will be expected to submit a detailed scholarship application, including academic achievement, leadership, honors and awards, along with an essay and an endorsement and recommendation from a school official.

Finalists will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit Scholarships, as well as about 1,000 corporate-sponsored awards and other scholarships provided by about 180 colleges and universities.

Matson joins an elite group of KHS grads who earned semifinalist status, including Derek Wrobbel in 1997, Dr. Branson Kester in 1998, Valerie Gooden and Tyler Minton in 2010, Alan Murphey in 2015 and Harrison Themer in 2019.