WNY ACADEMIC TEAM HONORS ONE MOUNT ST. MARY SENIOR

One senior from Mount St. Mary Academy has been named to Business First's 2010 All-Western New York Academic Team.

Becca Siegrist (Second Team) has qualified for this year's list of the 100 best and brightest high school seniors in the eight-county region.

Winners were chosen for their records of academic excellence, school leadership and community involvement. The top 25 were named to the First Team, 25 runners-up to the Second Team, and another 50 to the Special Mention list.

"This is an honor of true significance," said Jack Connors, president and publisher of Business First. "The Academic Team is an extraordinarily exclusive group. There are roughly 20,000 seniors in Western New York's high schools this year. Only 100 have met the incredibly stringent standards to make the Academic Team. That's the top one-half of one percent, the real cream of the crop."

Schools throughout the eight-county region were asked to nominate their smartest and most accomplished students for consideration by a nine-member committee, which included six admissions directors at area colleges and three Business First editors. A total of 112 schools responded with 386 nominees. (Each school was limited to four candidates.)

The complete list of 100 honorees -- along with their photos and profiles -- will be published in Business First's 2010-2011 Guide to Western New York Schools, which will hit newsstands on June 11.

A story about the Academic Team program, including a list of last year's winners, can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/2009wnyacadteam.