Hundreds of local students were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists on Wednesday for achieving high scores on the PSAT.

But Fairfax and Montgomery counties couldn’t keep pace with last year’s head counts, which was a record in Fairfax County with 234 semifinalists. This year, Fairfax claimed 229 semifinalists, with 146 hailing from magnet powerhouse Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.