LTHS Drafting, Design Students Win At State Competition

LOCKPORT, IL — Several Lockport Township High School drafting and design students had strong finishes, including a state championship, at the Illinois Design Educators Association state competition in April, the school said. 185 students competed virtually, with several students earning first, second and third place finishes.

Jake Ruff, Bilal Useini, and Pamela Hernandez-Espiritu were named state champions for the Architecture Design Team, the school said.

Michael Strahanoski achieved second place in Introductory CAD. Zachary Glowczynski and Scott Szymkowiak both achieved second place in Machine CAD. In 3D Modeling, Braeden Goebbert earned second place and Nicholas Chamiga earned third Place, according to the school.

Nate Landig and Chance Tyler both earned third place in Assembly Modeling. Landig is the first freshman LTHS has had place at state competition, the school said.

Elizabeth “Lisa” Snyder and Adrian Janik earned third in Architecure 3D; Emma Oster, Adrianna Garza and Yasmin Alaya earned third place in Engineering Design Team, the school said.

In the CAD contests, the school said students were given a drawing problem to solve and draw in a 2-hour time limit and then submit online. In the team divisions, students were presented with a design problem in January to solve and then submit video presentations of their solutions. The groups also submitted their drawings, pictures, and videos of the working prototype online.

The designs were graded by architects, engineers, college professors and students in the field, the school said. IDEA awards one state champion, two second places, and three third places for each design contest.

Jeff Brown and Corey Duzan, LTHS instructors for IDEA, are proud of their students’ accomplishments, the school said.

“The students worked and learned over and above their coursework,” Brown said. “They put in extra time to prepare for the regional and state contests. They overcame several challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions. They found ways to put in the time after school while in-person, or at home while learning remotely, and performed their best at the contests. They truly earned their places!”