WHO IS THE WORLD’S BEST BRICKLAYER?

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WISCONSIN REGIONAL

Michael Schlund named “Wisconsin’s Best Bricklayer!”

Menasha, WI – The best masons in Wisconsin came together to test their skill, speed and stamina by battling to see who could build the largest and best 26-foot-long brick wall in one hour. The competition is one of 24 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® Regional Series competitions to be held across North America in 2019. The winner of the each regional qualifies to compete in 2020 World Championship on February 5th, at the World of Concrete expo in Las Vegas.

9 teams of masons and tenders lined the arena at Miron Construction ready to prove they’re the best craftsmen in the region. Mason Michael Schlund and mason tender Aaron Kowalski of Kowalski Masonry in Wausau, WI took home top honors with a brick count of 601, winning a free trip to Las Vegas for the World Championship, a cash prize of $650, a Marshalltown tool bag, Stabila Level and the title, “Wisconsin’s Best Bricklayer.” The duo also took home the title, SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, which goes to the team with the “most sellable wall,” which earned them an extra $650.

This year high school students also had the opportunity to compete in the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500, an event designed specifically for their skill level. They were given 20 minutes to build an abbreviated version of the wall being constructed during the day’s journeymen bricklaying battle. 8 teams of students from schools across central and northeastern Wisconsin took part in specialized JR. event. Mason Kyle McGrath and tender Andrew Kieffer from Kimberly High School took home top honors. 

2019 WISCONSIN REGIONAL RESULTS

FIRST PLACE AND TOP CRAFTSMAN
MASON
Michael Schlund
TENDER
Aaron Kowalski
COMPANY
Kowalski Masonry
Wausau, WI

BRICK COUNT

601

PRIZE AMOUNT

$650 (1st Place), $650 (TOP CRAFTSMAN)

2ND PLACE
MASON
Jake Brock
TENDER
Nick Miller
COMPANY
Exteriors Plus
Ft. Atkinson

BRICK COUNT

519

PRIZE AMOUNT

$400

3RD PLACE
MASON
Roman Graebel
TENDER
Greg Korslin
COMPANY
Artega Construction
Milwaukee, WI

BRICK COUNT

507

PRIZE AMOUNT

$300

The SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500^® was established by SPEC MIX in 2003 to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of professional masons. It is featured as the headliner event of MASONRY MADNESS™ Day during the World of Concrete and recognized as the masonry industry’s premier bricklaying competition with a total purse estimated at $125,000 that annually awards the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer”. Each year there are a series of preliminary SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Regional Qualifying Events held throughout North America to determine who will compete in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship. The Championship finale draws as many as 6,000 spectators with thousands of live webcast viewers who tune in to watch this bricklayer battle.

NOTE USE OF TERMS: Please respect all legal trademarks for trade use. In print, the correct way to refer to the competition event is the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship, and MASONRY MADNESS® or MASONRY MADNESS® Day, case use as shown. The award titles for SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, and SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER®, should be in all caps followed by the word, “award.” When writing about our corporation the correct way to write our corporate name is SPEC MIX®. If referring to SPEC MIX brand the correct way is SPEC MIX®. The ® mark should always be used on the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500®, and SPEC MIX® the first time either term is used in body copy and always used when either term is in a headline or sub-headline. The same is correct for MASONRY MADNESS® or MASONRY MADNESS® Day.

If any of these title terms are used for mass media news or editorial use, we ask that the full term be used at least once at the beginning of the article, thereafter, “event or competition” would be acceptable terms. Please do not cut, rename or edit the legal trademarked name of the event so as to maintain the legal brand name and its integrity.