Father-son duo wins first place in bricklaying competition

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A father and son duo came in first at a regional bricklaying competition in Wisconsin. They will move on to a championship later this year in Las Vegas.

Doug Koenig, father and mason, and Mason Koenig, son and tender, on Wednesday took first place at the 2025 Wisconsin Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 Regional Event in Fond du Lac. The craftsmen, both with De Pere-based Chevalier Masonry, will move on to the “Super Bowl of Masonry” at the World of Concrete Tradeshow in Las Vegas early next year.

The Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 Wisconsin Regional is one of 22 regional series qualifiers across North America, which are designed to test the speed, skill and stamina of participants as they race to build the highest and best 26-foot-long brick wall in an hour. The team with the highest brick count and fewer mistakes ranks the best.

World championship prizes total more than $125,000 and include a new Silverado 4×4 crew cab truck, a Kubota RTV, an Essick Pro12 mixer, tools from IQ Power Tools, Stabila and more, officials said.

The Koenigs laid 519 bricks in 60 minutes, by more than 150 bricks above mason Eric Digman and tender Ajustus Bartus of Hatley-based 8-Pine with 361 bricks. The leading team won the title “Wisconsin’s Best Bricklayer” and received the Top Craftsman award for a combined total of $1,300 in prize money and secured their tickets to Las Vegas.

Third place went to mason Zach Theobald and tender Kyle Hughes of Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction with a 318-brick count. They won $350 in cash.

The 24th anniversary of the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2026.

Sawyer Dejardin won the junior bricklayer event after laying 60 bricks, earning $100. The junior event is for high school students and apprentices pursuing a career in masonry, officials said. The junior competition gave masonry’s up and coming bricklayers a chance to showcase their drive and skills against their peers, officials added.

“With workforce development being the primary battle cry for the skilled trades, the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is a tool designed to create awareness and interest needed to entice the next generation of masons,” organizers said in a statement. “Since its inception in 2003, the BRICKLAYER 500 has served as the masonry industry’s leading resource to recruit craftsmen and women to the craft.”