The  road to the 2022 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National Championship is well underway, with the first nine of 22 regional qualifying events completed. Seven of those competitions took place in September in various locations around the country, leading up to the main event at World of Concrete 2022 in January in Las Vegas. At the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National Championship, masons, supported by their tenders, compete to earn the title of the “World’s Best Bricklayer.” 

Along with the hoopla that goes along with the competition, the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is a tool designed to create interest from a new generation of masons in the rewards and opportunities possible in masonry and construction. Supporting this mission, several of the regional events include a JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500, an abbreviated version of the competition for high school students and apprentices pursuing a career in masonry. 

This year's Spec Mix BRICKLAYER 500 champion was mason David Chavez supported by his mason tender Guadalupe Hernandez of Ranch Masonry in Houston, laying 678 bricks during World of Concrete 2021 in Las Vegas. For the third year in a row, mason Darian Douthit and mason tender Nigel Delmez won the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, which goes to the team with the “most sellable” wall, as determined by a panel of judges.

Check out the slide show to see all of the winners from September's regional contests.