Oak Lawn Community High School announced that the students listed below earned honor roll status for the second semester of the 2025-2026 school year. Students with a grade point average between 3.0 and 3.749 qualified for the Honor Roll and students with a grade point average between 3.75 and 5.0 qualified for the High Honor Roll.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary British Soccer Manager, said, “Rookies bring the spark; veterans build the fire.”

The 2025-2026 Oak Lawn Community High School Journalism Team used a competitive fire and mix of students with various levels of experience to win their Journalism Sectional against some impressive programs such as Argo, Evanston, OPRF, and St. Laurence on Saturday, April 10th. The team consisted of experienced veterans who have that desire to win at the Sectional, and some new members enthusiastically learning about their competition on the fly. 

One of those seasoned Journalism veterans was Rawan Ali, who commented, “Getting All-State as a sophomore showed me what’s possible. Now, as a senior, I’m determined to make the most of my final opportunity and go for the state title.”

Students at Oak Lawn Community High School are earning statewide recognition for their creativity and artistic expression, with several advancing in the prestigious Illinois PTA Reflections program under this year’s theme, “I Belong.”

The Reflections program, now in its 55th year, is a nationally recognized arts initiative that encourages students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 to explore their talents in a variety of arts, including dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. Each year, more than 300,000 students across the country participate by submitting original works inspired by a unifying theme. Entries are judged based on interpretation, creativity, and artistic technique.

Oak Lawn Community High School saw an impressive 37 student submissions this year. Of those, 15 advanced to the state level, with four students receiving Honorable Mention distinctions. As an added highlight, three students have progressed to the regional level and will now compete nationally.

The Oak Lawn Community High School baseball made memories to last a lifetime on Sunday. The Spartans got the rare opportunity to play an Illinois High School Association game on Wrigley Field following a Chicago Cubs game. The day did not disappoint.

The Cubs came back after being five runs down to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, then two hours later, Oak Lawn rallied from down five runs to defeat Reavis, 10-7.

It was a doubleheader for the ages.

On Tuesday, April 7th and Wednesday, April 8th,  Oak Lawn Community High School will conduct its statewide testing of the ACT with Essay, PreACT Secure, and PreACT Secure 9 exams for all current grades 9-11 students. There is NO LATE START for Wednesday, April 8th. 

Oak Lawn Community High School is proud to announce that sixteen students have been awarded College Board Recognition

With four games remaining on the conference schedule, the Oak Lawn Community High School baseball team faced an ominous road to try to secure a share of the South Suburban Conference Red Championship. The team needed a near miracle.

The Spartans needed to win all four games, one of which was against an imposing Oak Forest team. The Spartans beat Oak Forest, 7-6 in 10 innings. Then, they needed Lemont to beat Reavis. Lemont did its job. Finally, they needed to sweep the Rams in the final two games of the conference slate.

All the pieces fell unbelievably into place ahead of Tuesday’s showdown with Reavis. With huge pitching performances from Justin Canvin and Evan Thacker, the Spartans pulled the rabbit out of their hat and won, 4-1 at Skip Sullivan Field. The victory gave Oak Lawn a much-deserved share of the championship plaque.

After a successful four-year career on the girls track team for Oak Lawn Community High School, senior Savanna Hartmann is finishing up in style—with a trip to the Illinois High School Association State Finals in pole vault. She is the lone Spartan to qualify this year.

“Savanna has had quite the spectacular Spartan career,” head coach Joe Butler said. “She began her career as a jumper/sprinter and now competes as a pole vaulter/thrower. In her specialty, the pole vault she qualified. We congratulate her on her incredible journey so far and wish her the best of luck at Hope College where she’ll continue to soar to new heights.”

Laith Abbasi took on a new challenge this year for the Oak Lawn Community High School boys track and field team, the pole vault. He worked hard at the technical event, but he also kept up in his sprint events. In the end, he succeeded at both.

During the indoor season, Abbasi pole vaulted 10-feet-6-inches. This spring he is ranked in the Top 5 on the team in the 100-meter, fourth in the 200-meter, and second in the 400. He also competes in the relays as a member of the 400-meter relay, the 800-meter relay, and the 1,600-meter relay.

“Laith consistently shows determination and stays motivated while participating in a very technical and challenging event,” head coach Scott Miller said. “Laith has achieved great times in the sprint events this season as well. He is extremely coachable, focused, and knows what he wants to achieve while being a team leader. He is an outstanding multi-sport athlete.”

Determined, patient, successful, all these words can be used to describe Oak Lawn Community High School head baseball coach Bill Gerny. After starting his coaching career as a volunteer freshman assistant coach at the school many moons ago, he became the head sophomore coach, and he eventually worked his way to the top of the program as varsity head coach for the Spartans.

A testament to the successful program he has built came last month when he earned his 200^th career victory as skipper for the Spartans. As of Thursday, he had totaled 214 wins and finds himself in another South Suburban Conference Red battle for a championship. He already led the Spartans to conference championships in 2013 and 2021.

Thursday afternoon at Skip Sullivan Field in Oak Lawn, athletic director Jeremey Cryan and the athletic department honored Gerny with a commemorative ball to acknowledge the accomplishment. Surrounded by family and friends, Gerny tipped his hat to the fans and then guided the Spartans to a 7-2 win over visiting TF North.

Patrick Driscoll embodies everything that head boys volleyball coach Matt Hunt wants in a team captain for Oak Lawn Community High School. He plays multiple sports (golf and volleyball), he has dedication to both sports, he is a great leader, and he is an even better teammate.

This season, the captain is doing all of that and more for the Spartans.

“As the captain of the volleyball team, Patrick exemplifies leadership and teamwork,” Hunt said. “His ability to motivate and support his teammates makes him a tremendous asset to our program. Beyond his athletic talents, Patrick’s commitment and positive attitude contribute significantly to the success and spirit of our teams.”

For Oak Lawn Community High School senior Sophia Gonzalez, her entire girls soccer career has been a battle. Whether it was dealing with injuries or facing the opponent’s best defender, she has attacked it all with personal pride.

In the end, she conquered it all as she leads the Spartans in goals and assists.

“Her dedication to training, working hard, and being a supportive teammate has been critical to her success,” head coach John Faro said. “Her speed, acceleration, and quick decision making is key to our offensive success. Her drive and strong work ethic will come in handy as she’s off to study nursing at DePaul University.”