FOND DU LAC – He laid 569 bricks in only one hour! Mason Michael Schlund and mason tender Aaron Kowalski with Kowalski Masonry in Wausau recently teamed up to earn the title Wisconsin’s Best Bricklayer.
Schlund and Kowalski beat out nine other local teams, officially winning their shot to compete on the biggest stage in masonry, the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500, in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete Expo in January 2022.
To qualify for the championship, hundreds of teams from across North America battle to win one of 22 individual regional series events, proving they belong on the national stage. Each team, consisting of one mason and one mason tender, will be given an hour to build the largest and best 26-foot-long brick wall they can, with as few errors as possible. One winning team from each region will advance to compete for over $125,000 in cash and prizes (including a new Ford F-250 4×4 Truck, Kubota RTV-X1140) and the title World’s Best Bricklayer.
This marks the third time Schlund has qualified for the championship, having competed most recently in 2019. This was a close race as Schlund barely edged out a victory against last year’s regional champion, Jake Brock, by only seven bricks.
In addition to winning a free trip to the big show, Schlund and Kowalski also won $600 for claiming first place, along with other prizes.
More info
To learn more, see the official results, and to watch the Wisconsin event, visit: https://www.specmix.com/spec-mix-bricklayer-500/2021-wisconsin/.
The 20th annual Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 World Championship will be held Jan. 19, 2022 at the World of Concrete expo in Las Vegas.
