Bachetti ’99 Named ‘Best Bricklayer in Pennsylvania’

For the second year in a row Phil Bachetti 9W9, masonry instructor, was named the Best Bricklayer in Pennsylvania after coming in first place in the regional Spec Mix Bricklayer 500. His tender was his brother and fellow mason, Nick Bachetti.

In the Junior Division, Cameron Wolfe 2W3 took first place with Ainsley Doyle 2W3 as his tender, and Andrew Beach 2W3 took second place with Justin Murphy 2W3 as his tender.

In the event, which is held at the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Training Center in Northeast Philadelphia, masons from all over the state compete to see who can lay the most brick in one hour. The junior bricklayers compete to see who can lay the most brick in 20 minutes.

Bachetti went up against nine competitors from across the state and won by laying over 700 brick in an hour. He was named Best Bricklayer in Pennsylvania and will compete for the title of Best Bricklayer in the United States in the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete Expo in January 2023. Wolfe and Beach competed against two teams from Thaddeus Stevens and a team from the Bricklayers Union.

Peter Zwolak 0W7, director of construction technology-masonry emphasis, said “Williamson has a history of success at this event and this year was no different. Each team is comprised of a bricklayer and a mason tender. Both are an equally important component of a winning team. Our masonry seniors and juniors helped facilitate the competition and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and hard work. The event would not have been possible without their efforts.”

A big thank you goes to the following companies for their support of Williamson at this event: Diener Brick Co., in Collingswood, N.J., with help from Mike Clement 8W2, a Diener sales manager, donated the leftover bricks to Williamson; Spec Mix, of Eagan, Minn., manufacturers of masonry products, donated two pallets of mortar; Fizzano Brothers Concrete Products, of Crum Lynne, donated leftover block; and Giles J. Cannon, a masonry contractor in Collingdale, loaned the use of a truck to deliver the materials.