USA TODAY Names 2005 All-USA High School Academic Team

MCLEAN, Va., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY named 20 students to its 19th annual All-USA High School Academic First Team. The students will each receive a trophy and $2,500 cash award.

"We're pleased to be able to honor these remarkable students who have demonstrated both impressive scholarship and leadership. They are destined to make a difference," said USA TODAY Editor Ken Paulson.

Following are the 20 First Team members: * Brenna M. Brucker, Bethel Park High School, Bethel Park, Pa. Parents: William and Anne Brucker * Stanley S. Chiang, Great Neck North High School, Great Neck, N.Y. Parents: Judy and Chien Chiang * Robert T. Cordwell, Manzano High School, Albuquerque, N.M. Parents: William and Rosemary Cordwell * Timothy F. Credo, Illinois Math & Science Academy, Aurora, Ill. Parents: Robert and Margaret Credo * Jerry Guo, Riverside High School, Greer, S.C. Parents: Chuanpu Guo and Rong Zhang * Yueqi (Lucie) Guo, North Carolina School of Science and Math, Durham, N.C. Parents: Hongtao Guo and Yun Yan * Nikhil Gupta, Manhasset High School, Manhasset, N.Y. Parents: Kanchan and Mala Gupta * Christopher J. Kaimmer, Ballard High School, Seattle, Wash. Parents: Steve Kaimmer and Sharon LeVan * Po-Ling Loh, James Madison Memorial High School, Madison, Wis. Parents: Wei-Yin and Theresa Loh * Sagar V. Mehta, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury, N.Y. Parents: Viplov and Falguni Mehta * Theodoros C. Milonopoulos, Campbell Hall School, North Hollywood, Calif. Parents: George and Constantina Milonopoulos * Chi P. Nguyen, California High School, San Ramon, Calif. Parents: Danh and Kim Nguyen * Ryan T. Olson, Giles High School, Pearisburg, Va. Parents: Paul and Pamela Olson * Theodore R. Pak, Regis High School, New York, N.Y. Parents: Robert and Myung-Hee Pak * Kimberly E. Reinhold, St. Joseph High, Hilo, Hawaii Parents: Charles Reinhold and Rhoda Noall * Rachel Elise A. Rizal, Gretchen Whitney High School, Cerritos, Calif. Parents: Renato and Emerly Rizal * Josh Sommer, Western Guilford High School, Greensboro, N.C. Parent: Simone Sommer * Megan L. Srinivas, Fort Dodge Senior High School, Fort Dodge, Iowa Parents: Jay and Geetha Srinivas * Lekha R. Tummalapalli, Fox Chapel Area High School, Pittsburgh, Pa. Parents: Mohini Chatrathi and Krishna Tummalapalli * Marshall Worsham, Herschel V. Jenkins High School, Savannah, Ga. Parents: Mark and Lori Worsham

The team of 20 was selected by a panel of judges from just over 1,600 nominees nationwide. Outstanding individual scholarship or intellectual achievement, and leadership roles in activities on or off campus were the most important criteria to the judges. Students also were judged on academic performance, honors, awards, rigor of academic pursuits and the ability to express themselves in writing.

Criteria for the All-USA High School Academic Team were developed in consultation with USA TODAY's co-sponsors: the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

The 2005 All-USA High School Academic Team final judges were: * Art Buikema, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University * David Evans, Harvard College * Honor Fede, National Association of Secondary School Principals * Jay Goldman, American Association of School Administrators * Meg Gruber, National Education Association * Marilyn Hala, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics * Shanda Ivory, National Association for College Admission Counseling * Joseph (Joe) Militello, National Association of Secondary School Principals * Robert Thornton, Housatonic Community College, Bridgeport, CT * Martin Wilder, University of Mary Washington * Richard Wong, American School Counselor Association

For more information on these winners as well as the second- and third- team members, see the Thursday, May 12 editions of USA TODAY and USATODAY.com.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co. Inc.