By Pat Hammert/Staff Writer

The mantra that Cody Piersall, Jessica Wills and Nick Brown learned when they were wee tots in grade school is stored — possibly forever — in the recesses of their big brains.

A dozen years later, the synapse fire and the El Reno High School seniors can recite the saying without a stumble.

“I was born to be a winner and I will not allow myself to think of failure … I will not stand on the sidelines of life watching others pass me by.”

That declaration had to have crept into the psyche of all three because they will be named top students of their 2007 high school graduating class. Piersall and Wills have been named valedictorian and Brown as salutatorian.

Brown, son of Darrel and Annette Brown, is only points away from sharing the top spot with Piersall and Wills. He has instant recall of the moment they separated: He made a 76 on a math test because he’d been working ahead in the textbook.

Still, his high ACT score will serve him well in terms of securing scholarships, one of the reasons students struggle for top grades. But certainly not the only reason.

“Myself, honestly, I don’t like any kind of failure,” Brown said. “I don’t like to disappoint people, teachers, parents, friends.” And once academic success is achieved, people expect them to continue, he said.

He’ll attend the University of Oklahoma where, in terms of scholarships, he’s applied for “everything” that applies. He’ll be majoring in “anything where I can think and argue, like history or English. I don’t like English that much but I’m good at it.”

Wills, daughter of Jeff and Tracey Wills, said she had to study harder to achieve, cracking the books more often than Piersall or Brown. They’ve traveled the same roads to get where they are.

From Rose Witcher Elementary to Roblyer Middle School and Etta Dale Junior High, these three students have never been far from an A on their report cards. They are friends, not competitors, studying together and helping each other out, Wills said.

Small accelerated learning classes in high school kept them on track, they all three said.

This year, they take their half dozen or so accelerated courses together during their seven hours at school.

Wills knew by her junior class with physics teacher Karen Jennings that she would pursue physical science and math in college.

“Math is really my forte,” she said, with her favorite teacher Julie Owens, who nudged her to do her best in math. She will attend OU and quite possibly will seek an advanced degree in political science, she said. At this point in her life, she terms her political views a little on the conservative side.

As for Piersall, he is among an elite group of high school students who has been named semi-finalists for the National Merit Scholarship program. Less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors who apply make the cut.

He will learn later in the spring whether he is a finalist, but in any event, the honor affords him some scholarship choices. He said he feels a certain “contentment” to receive valedictorian honors.

He wants to secure as many scholarships as possible so he can attend MIT, determining a career choice while attending that prestigious institution.

“One of the best in the world and I’d really like to go into math and science,” he said.

He credits his parents, Wade and Patti Piersall, for inspiring him to excel in school.