Owen, Powell, Sabagh named National Merit Finalists

BILOXI, Miss.- St. Patrick Catholic High School is proud to announce that three students have been named 2023 National Merit Finalists. Thomas Owen, Caleb Powell and Juliana Sabagh have all been named finalists. All three were named semifinalists back in October of 2022. 

The Class of 2023 took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or the PSAT/NMSQT in October of 2021. Out of about 1.6 million high school seniors from around the United States, 7,600 become National Merit Finalists based on their academic performance on the PSAT/NMSQT.

Owen is the son of Sam and Kirsten Owen of Gulfport, Powell is the son of Jeffrey and Joy Powell of Gulfport, and Sabagh is the daughter of Sam Sabagh of Ocean Springs.

“I am extremely proud to say that St. Patrick has not one, but three National Merit Finalists this year,” Principal Dr. Matt Buckley said. “All three have worked impressively hard during their high school careers, and I am confident they will continue to succeed academically after high school and make us proud.”

Owen, Powell and Sabagh now have the opportunity to continue in the competition to be awarded one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million.

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St. Patrick Catholic High School is a faith-based, college preparatory high school in Biloxi, Mississippi, and named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2019. Established in 2007, St. Patrick is the premier secondary educational institution in South Mississippi and strives each day to Educate Scholars, Train Disciples, and Support Champions. St. Patrick is proud to report a 100% college matriculation rate, ACT and SAT scores that far exceed the state and national averages, and a rich history of Catholic education founded in the traditional roots of our legacy schools of St. John High School, Mercy Cross High School, Notre Dame High School, and Sacred Heart Academy.