Montana Tech teams compete at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) construction bidding competition
Two teams and one alternate from Montana Technological University competed in the 2025 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 6/7 annual construction bidding competition, held in Sparks, Nevada on Feb. 5-8, 2025. Montana Tech entered teams in the following categories: Alternate, Commercial, and Heavy Civil. Both Commercial and Heavy Civil teams competed against universities in the Rocky Mountain Region, that includes Alaska, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Montana and Wyoming.
For the second consecutive year, a Montana Tech’s team, sponsored by Mortenson, competed in the Commercial category. This year’s team tackled a new problem statement and, despite some changes from last year’s roster, gained valuable experience in both technical skills and teamwork. The team consisted of seniors representing a diverse range of disciplines, including civil engineering, construction management, mechanical engineering, and safety, health and industrial hygiene. Team members included Captain Chase Hinckley of Billings; Project Manager Sydney Phillips of Helmville; Andruw Brester of Billings; Makenna Liles of Florence; Samantha Moore of Big Timber and Bode Jensen of Butte. Rylee Mitchell, of Great Falls, served as an alternate and was prepared to contribute if needed.
“The Mortenson project was the expansion of the National Jewish Health Hospital in downtown Denver, Colorado,” Hinkley said. “Some of the logistics to this project were that the existing hospital was to remain completely operational during construction of the new addition. There also was a new storm water sewer system being installed at the same time as the new hospital, which made the project’s jobsite even more clustered. This project was difficult, and challenged all of us. It forced us to think outside of the box as most of us have not seen a job site with these many requirements before. Unfortunately, we did not place this year, but the experience at the ASC competition has provided all of us with more knowledge about the construction industry. This experience simulates a real-world scenario in a 24-hour time frame, and I felt that we have all gained greater knowledge that will help us in our future careers. I am proud of the deliverables our team provided Mortenson this year, and how we presented the project to them on Friday. I am thankful for faculty’s time preparing us for the competition. Without their efforts, our preparation would be a lot more difficult.”
The team was coached by Bill Ryan of Dick Anderson Construction, who is also an adjunct at Montana Tech.
“This team really worked hard to prepare for this year’s competition,” Ryan said. “With only two returning team members, we trained hard to get our new teammates ready for this intense competition. I am so proud of this team, how they came together, supported one another, and made a great effort in Sparks. I received many compliments from industry folks and other coaches in attendance on how they presented and their approach to this project. It was clear that they had a great understanding of the project requirements, special conditions, and competition deliverables. This team was a pleasure to coach.”
The Heavy Civil team was comprised of two seniors, one junior, and three sophomores. The seniors competed in different categories in the past four years, and two of the sophomores competed as alternates in 2024. This was a relatively young and very ambitious energetic team to take on the category. Their practices have all been strong in technical deliveries and quality of presentations. All team members are in the civil engineering program, and most have had some work experience. Team members are Captain Jade Morast of Dillon, who is also president of the AGC Club; Julianne Baker of Washougal, Washington; Sean Mehling of Hardin; Holter Reisinger of Billings; Cael Ricci of Billings; and Will Wagner of Florence.
The Heavy Civil project, sponsored by Kiewit, focused on an airfield paving project in Hawaii for the United States Air Force. The airfield serves as a parking and maintenance area for helicopters, requiring the addition of new rotary aircraft parking sections. Completing this expansion required transporting approximately 750,000 tons of aggregate to the site. The technical aspects of the project involved developing a comprehensive concrete paving and logistics plan. Teams also had to design a batch plant staging area and create an aggregate delivery plan. Additionally, they were responsible for preparing a detailed schedule and cost summary for evaluation, along with safety and risk mitigation reports as part of the final work documents. One of the most challenging aspects of the project was selecting suitable materials and subcontractors while ensuring efficient workforce and equipment utilization. Given the tight site logistics and strict schedule sequencing, every aspect of the plan had to be meticulously developed and justified.
“This was a highly detail-oriented project, requiring precision in every phase,” Morast said. “The team did an excellent job, and with such a young group, I am excited to see where these new leaders will take the club in the coming years.”
For 11 years, Adjunct Professor Sonya Rosenthal has coached the Heavy Civil team. She expressed pride in the team’s ability to effectively apply knowledge gained from workshops, industry presentations, and coursework to solve their competition problems.
“From the start of training, I have been grateful that all team members jumped in, owned each project, and worked together to optimize each person’s skills with the requirements of the project,” Rosenthal said. “Captain Morast brought leadership and years of competition experience, which aided in team calmness, and encouraged perseverance to push the young team to new levels. The team learned from each other and all the coaches and industry representatives during the six months of preparation.”
This year, alternate Rylee Mitchell joined a team of six competitors from the U.S. in a problem sponsored by Rudolph and Sletten. There were 352 students in team sizes of 6-8 that competed in this alternate competition. Rylee’s teammates were from Colorado State University, San Diego University, Utah University, Washington State University, and BYU Idaho. Her team was diverse, with members ranging from freshmen to seniors, each bringing unique skill sets, educational backgrounds, and internship experiences.
“The focus of our project was a hospital, and our responsibilities included bid tally, change orders, requests for information, submittals, general conditions/general requirements, site logistics planning, organizational chart development, and scheduling,” Mitchell said. “My primary role was handling the general conditions/requirements, which involved estimating tasks. Additionally, I supported other team members with the schedule and organizational chart, leveraging their technical expertise and proficiency with specialized software. This experience was both a valuable learning opportunity and a testament to the power of teamwork.”
Montana Tech AGC Club Industry Advisor Andy Anderson praised the hard work and commitment that this year’s students showed during preparation for and at the 2025 ASC Competition.
“I’m so proud of the time and effort our students devoted to ASC this year,” Anderson said. “Our students held their own against universities ten times larger than Montana Tech, I am thrilled to witness the dedication and steadfastness of our students and I’m looking forward to a return to the podium next year.”
The club’s chosen competition categories align well with Montana Tech’s curriculum and the diverse career paths of the students. The 2024-2025 team members represent a range of disciplines, including civil engineering, construction management, mechanical engineering, and safety, health & industrial hygiene.
AGC Club Advisor Rosenthal wants to recognize the work of the students and coaches on evenings and weekends in preparation for the competition. The two teams and alternate were very strong competitors, representing the school very well, and excited industry recruiters. The teams trained through the fall semester, focusing on learning a variety of construction methods and management for heavy civil projects and commercial buildings.
AGC Advisors Rosenthal, Ryan, and Anderson also recognized and thanked the many industry sponsors that helped the Montana Tech students this year.
“We are so thankful for our industry partners and Montana Tech alumni for providing both the technical and financial support to allow our students to be successful at ASC,” Anderson said. “Without these companies and alumni, we wouldn’t be able to provide this amazing opportunity to our students. We are grateful for the guidance and assistance that our industry partners continue to provide.”
"The students dedicated themselves fully to the competition, both in their performance and their enjoyment of the experience,” Rosenthal said. “This provides them with a distinct advantage as they launch their careers."
Interim Dean of the Lance College of Mines and Engineering Dr. Jack Skinner took the opportunity to attend the competition and network with industry and other universities.
“It was a pleasure to watch our students present their construction bid packages at the ASC Student Competition,” Skinner said. “They demonstrated the kind of professionalism and skill that the industry deeply values. The entire team’s passion and excitement were evident during the competition and in their interactions with industry sponsors. Many long-term industrial partners highlighted the significance of this competition and Montana Tech’s involvement in recruiting top talent for their companies. I am incredibly proud of our students and their advisors for dedicating so much time into the preparation for and performing in the competition. Because of the hard work put into the bidding competition over the years, Montana Tech’s stellar reputation in the construction world has grown immensely. I am excited to see the remarkable careers our students will embark upon, significantly shaped by the experiences gained from the ASC Student Competition.”
While Montana Tech did not place in the 2025 competition, the Heavy Civil team took first place in 2024, which meant they were given the honor of decorating the traveling trophy case. The case was front and center on the award stage, and visible to all attendees.
The AGC Club at Montana Tech is open to all students in any major interested in learning about the construction industry. The teams include a mix of students in two-year and four-year programs from Montana Tech's north and south campus, a unique strategy that has strengthened the teams and closely replicates the work environment.