May 6, 2025
Three Wentzville School District students were selected for this year’s Missouri Scholars 100. Liberty High School seniors Pranad Balla and Raksha Thiagarajan, and Timberland High School senior Maddox Riley were named to the distinguished list. The statewide program, now in its 31st year, honors 100 of Missouri’s top academic students in each year’s graduating class. The 2025 recipients were recognized at a luncheon at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, Mo., on May 4, 2025.
Missouri Scholars 100 Honorable Mention students include Hunter Adams and Landon Rosenhoffer from Holt High School and Isaiah Estep from North Point High School.
Balla has a weighted GPA of 4.577, scored a 36 on the ACT, is ranked first in his class, and is recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is a four-year member of Key Club and HOSA, a three-year member of FBLA and Coding Club, a 2-year member of NHS and Math Club, and a three-year member of the Liberty tennis team. Balla serves as the president of Math Club, vice president of Coding Club, secretary of FBLA, treasurer of HOSA, and historian of NHS. Additionally, he currently serves as the secretary of MO-ARK Key Club, served as the Lieutenant Governor of MO-ARK Key Club as a junior, and attended Missouri Scholars Academy.
Thiagarajan has a weighted GPA of 4.407, scored a 33 on the ACT, is ranked second in her class, and is recognized as an AP Scholar with Honor. She is a four-year member of DECA, FBLA, and the Liberty tennis team. Thiagarajan serves as the president of DECA and as the treasurer of Key Club. She served as the past social media manager of Model UN and the French club executive board. This year, Thiagarajan was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.
Riley has a weighted GPA of 4.380, scored a 36 on the ACT, is ranked fifth in his class, and was recognized as an AP Scholar with Honor. He is a four-year member of the cross country team, is the distance team captain of the track and field team, and has competed at the state championship in both sports. Riley is a member of the programming club, has participated in math club and chess club, and attended Missouri Scholars Academy. This year, Riley was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, and was a Presidential Scholars Program candidate.
Missouri Scholars 100 is a program sponsored by the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals. Schools across Missouri are invited to nominate candidates for this recognition, which is based on academic excellence, and uses a formula considering the student's grade point average and ACT or SAT scores. Nominees must meet the criteria of an "Academic Decathlon," successfully navigating ten challenging academic events to showcase their scholastic strength. To qualify, students must hold a minimum GPA of 3.75, a minimum ACT score of 29 or a minimum SAT score of 1,280, rank in the upper ten percent of their class and engage in advanced coursework in mathematics, science, English, and foreign language. Attendance, school activity involvement, and citizenship are also taken into consideration.
