LTHS Students Win At SkillsUSA Illinois State Competition

LOCKPORT, IL — Four Lockport Township High School students will advance to the SkillsUSA national competition after their performance at the SkillsUSA Illinois state competition, the school said in a release.

In April, 15 LTHS students qualified for the SkillsUSA state competition, which challenges career and technical education students to compete in a host of occupational and leadership areas. Students participated virtually this year, the school said. Students took a qualification exam and then submitted their final products, such as video or technical drawings, online to be judged.

Four LTHS students placed first in their contests and advanced to the national competition, which will also be held virtually starting June 1, the school said.

Anthony Ficek, Yasmin Alaya, and Emma Oster competed in the Engineering Technology Design challenge and took first place as a team. Steven Szpicki competed in the Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair challenge and placed first.

Additionally, three students earned second place at the state level, the school said. Chance Tyler and Josh Mehnert competed in 3D Animation and Visualization and earned second as a team. Nicholas Errico earned second place in Power Equipment Technology.

“This year has been exceedingly difficult for everyone, but it has been great to see our students pull through it all and still succeed,” Matt Mullins, Career & Technical Education teacher and SkillsUSA Advisor at LTHS, said in a release. “There were some late nights, but the students never seemed to be daunted. I couldn't be prouder of all the students who competed this year.”