Montana Tech Heavy Civil team earns third at ASC Regional Competition

Montana Technological University’s Heavy Civil team took third place in the 2026 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 6/7 annual construction bidding competition, held February 4–7, 2026, at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada.

The ASC Regions 6 & 7 competition brings together more than 50 universities and more than 1,800 students from 20 states, offering hands-on problem-solving challenges that mirror real-world construction scenarios. In addition to the competition, students have opportunities to network with industry professionals through a large-scale job fair and conference events. The challenges pit Montana Tech students against competitors from some of the largest universities in the West.

The Heavy Civil team consisted of civil engineering senior Juliane Baker, civil engineering junior Sean Mehling, civil engineering tech junior Will Wagner, construction management senior Cody Dickard, construction management senior Carter Pendergrass, and construction management junior Holter Reisinger. Alternates included civil engineering freshman Roland Fisher and civil engineering junior Kaden Pittman.

Students were asked to tackle a project worth over $100 million with a high level of complexity on an active large airport. Their deliverables included a full bid proposal with construction estimates, a critical path schedule, risk management plan, manning/equipment plan, and site logistics.

“Our Heavy Civil team this year included four competition veterans, two seniors with first time competition experience, and two alternates with industry experience,” Heavy Civil Coach and Adjunct Professor Sonya Rosenthal said. “They each brought in their own talents and quickly formed as a team to 'own' their projects and develop strong proposals. Their work at competition shows their strong ability to work together under demanding conditions and still deliver a great presentation that earned the attention from their problem sponsor, Kiewit Construction, and representatives from the heavy civil construction industry.”

"I'm incredibly proud of our team, we set high expectations for ourselves and strived to be a top team at this year's competition,” AGC President Will Wagner said. “We put a lot of hours in throughout these past few semesters and to see it finally come to fruition with a third-place finish means the world to us.”

Wagner expressed his thanks to Rosenthal for coaching the team and generous club sponsors including Riverside Construction, Barnard, Sletten Construction, Ames, Dick Anderson Construction, Jackson Construction, Christensen Electric, Water and Environmental Technologies, and the Montana Contractors Association.

Montana Tech also competed in the Project Management category, a category open to all schools nationwide, and sponsored by DPR Construction. Students acted as DPR Project Managers for the completion of the Lady Bird's Crown, a $522 million project in Austin, Texas. Teams were responsible for developing a site logistics plan, a construction schedule, a manpower loading schedule, and various other construction plans. 

Montana Tech Team members included mechanical engineering senior Grady Gonsioroski, civil engineering freshman Dash Ruff, construction management junior Dutch Chandler, construction management freshman Connor Logan, civil engineering freshman Jarron Henrich, and civil engineering tech freshman Jack Rupert.

“Our team worked hard,” Industry Coach Andy Anderson said. “They spent two semesters volunteering their time to put in the extra work to learn the ins and outs of Project Management. They gave up their nights and weekends to get ready for ASC, and I am incredibly proud of their performance. We might not have placed in the top three this year, but the team learned a lot, competed incredibly well, and I can’t wait for them to come back next year and earn their rightful place on the podium.”

Montana Tech’s Pre-Construction team also took on a challenging project with a budget of over $100 million, provided by PCL Construction on the Alameda Island New Wastewater Treatment plant located in the San Francisco Bay. This manmade island presented logistical issues from the start with a one way in -one way-out two-lane road, working within the confines of active neighborhoods all sitting on an island made with layers of bay mud and sand. The project required a unique geotechnical approach which included ground stabilization and a recommended foundation plan for the buildings located on the site.

Team members included Jacob Stangenberg, Jace Maynard, Logan Ruegsegger, Bryce Shields, Brayden Keane, and Justin Gonzalez.

“I am extremely proud of the team’s efforts leading up to, during competition, and after their final presentation,” Pre-Construction Coach Bill Ryan said. “They really came together as a team and performed at the highest level, the excitement around this team from industry, the project sponsors, and other university faculty who recognized their quality work on this problem. While we didn’t happen to place this year, this Montana Tech team opened some eyes and turned some heads.”