Lemont students earn three medals at 2026 SkillsUSA State Conference

Lemont High School students earned three medals and posted five top ten finishes at the 2026 SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference, which was held from April 23-25 at the Peoria Civic Center. Nine Lemont students competed in a total of seven categories at the event.

Seniors Mirella Miazga, Aidan McIntyre and Kristopher Szaflarski combined for a Bronze Medal in Engineering Technology Design. Miazga earned a second bronze medal in Technical Spelling, while senior Hubert Bydlon picked up a bronze medal in Cabinetmaking.

Senior Kinga Strzalka placed fifth in Related Technical Math, while senior Gavin Rull was ninth in Baking and Pastry Arts.

Other state qualifiers included seniors Payton Knutte and Abby Raynor (Interactive Preschool Display) and Nicholas Twardowski (Woodworking Display).

SkillsUSA State Conference

Prior to this year, Lemont’s SkillsUSA state medalists included Alan Lynn ‘11 (2011; Gold - Food and Beverage), Shawn Nienhouse ‘11 (2010; Silver - Food and Beverage) and Daniel Janusz ‘25 (2025; Gold - Criminal Justice).

The SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference brings together outstanding career and technical education students from across the state to compete in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students qualify via in-person events and regional exams, among other methods. Lemont’s SkillsUSA advisors include Scott Duensing and Sarah Mimnaugh.