Representative Steve Knight, CA-25, has announced the principal nominees to four U.S. Service Academies.

Nicholas Drinhaus of Palmdale was chosen for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Both Connor Lewis of Valencia and Delaney Marbach of Stevenson Ranch were selected for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Army).

Ian Caddow of Saugus was chosen as the nominee to both the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Caddow and Drinhaus have already been accepted into the academies of their choice, and will be starting this fall.

“These four students have shown exemplary performance in their academic and extracurricular activities,” said Knight, “I am extremely honored to nominate them to our Service Academies.”

Early last year, Knight began accepting applications from students from around the Antelope, Santa Clarita, and Simi Valleys who aspired to attend military academies.

Knight’s Academy Selection Board, which is made up of community members from around the 25th Congressional District, reviewed over fifty submissions, interviewed the candidates, and selected the students based on a wide range of factors ranging from academic achievements, leadership skills, physical aptitude, character and motivation.

“I want to congratulate these nominees on their hard work and dedication,” said Knight. “Students like these are the future of this great country, and I am proud to get them one step closer to fulfilling their potential as leaders of tomorrow.”

In addition to the four principle nominees, Knight also named alternates to each of the four academies.

The alternates are:

To the U.S. Naval Academy: Brett D. Eckert of Saugus, Daniel Davoodi of Valencia, Daniel J. Kim of Northridge, Marshall O. Shires of Simi Valley, Samantha Geere of Stevenson Ranch, Tyler Moroso of Valencia, Tyler Schatz of Palmdale, Zachary A. Aloma of Simi Valley, and Zachery L. Frederickson of Palmdale.

To the U.S. Air Force Academy: Andrew B. Vincioni of Simi Valley, Blake E. Fall of Valencia, Christian A. Eckmann of Simi Valley, Christopher R. Handlin of Simi Valley, Jacob Rodriguez-Lupica of Simi Valley, Kamrey A. Shaughnessy of Santa Clarita, Michael S. Mayes of Palmdale, Samuel H. Fox of Acton, and William A. Ferrell of Valencia.

To the U.S. Military Academy: Christopher R. Handlin of Simi Valley, Hyeveen Cho of Palmdale, Ian Caddow of Saugus, Jonathan M. of Valencia, Marshall O. Shires of Simi Valley, Tyler Moroso of Valencia, Tyler Schatz of Palmdale, and Zachary A. Aloma of Simi Valley.

To the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: Alexandria M. Banks of Castaic, Andrew B. Vincioni of Simi Valley, Chris Mars of Simi Valley, Daniel J. Kim of Northridge, Jesus J. Zambrano of Palmdale, Lilianna R. Rosales of Palmdale, Veronica J. Grabiak of Palmdale, and Vivian J. Gomez of Palmdale.