Lockport Township Students Place At Illinois SkillsUSA State Finals

LOCKPORT, IL — Nine Lockport Township High School students recently placed in the top three of their respective competitive categories at the SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership and Skills Conference, the school announced.

A total of 30 Lockport students advanced to the state competition, which was held in April in Peoria. Students were judged by industry professionals and reached the state finals after advancing based on their score in a state qualifying test in February.

Brent Paller finished first in the power equipment technology category while Riley Di Vita (automotive service technology), Vanessa Cuellar, Lila Bergbower (3D animation) and Jake Haas, Trevor Dooley, David Pehlke, and John Kamper (Teamworks) placed second and Devin Galeher (power equipment technology) placed third.

Teachers within the LTHS College and Career Applications Department prepare teams for the state and national SkillsUSA competitions each year, school officials said in a news release. Jeff Brown leads the Engineering Technology Design Team and 3D Animation. Mark de la Vega leads Automotive Service Technology and Matt Mullins leads Power Equipment Technology and serves as the SkillsUSA Advisor.

The hard work and commitment of all of these teachers not only prepare students to succeed in competitions such as SkillsUSA but also equip them for further success in higher academic pursuits and in the workforce, officials said.

Paller, Cuellar, Bergbower, DiVita, Trinity Muszynski, Robert Karbarz, and Kyle Brown will participate in the SkillsUSA National Competition in Atlanta in June.