Eight additional Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) graduates have won National Merit Scholarships, raising the number for the 2004-2005 school year to 48.

The additional awards were given by universities to students who will attend those institutions.

The scholars, colleges, and areas of study are:

§ Montgomery Blair High School: Bradford J. Gee, University of Maryland, government service/law; Willington C. Lin, University of Maryland, electrical engineering

§ James Hubert Blake High School: Gilad S. Barlev, Kenyon College, physics

§ Col. Zadok Magruder High School: Charles S. Ballard, Macalester College, international relations

§ Richard Montgomery High School: Amy J. Lieberman, Scripps College, performance arts; Joel M. Witten, University of Maryland, medicine

§ Walt Whitman High School: Jonathan F. Dinerstein, Tufts University, undecided

§ Thomas S. Wootton High School: Michael Lee, University of Maryland, meteorology

In total, MCPS graduates in the Class of 2005 won 19 $2,500 awards funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, 23 college-sponsored scholarships, and six corporate-sponsored awards.