Jun. 11—West Terre Haute’s Marty Marrs finished third Wednesday in the 2021 Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 World Championship in Las Vegas, putting down 615 bricks in one hour.
Three bricks is all that separated Marrs, the owner of Marrs Masonry and Concrete, and his fellow bricklayer, Tony Savant, from a second-place finish.
“Three bricks was the difference and the difference in another $1,000,” Marrs said, as the two collected $3,000 for third place.
Brian and Scott Tuttle of Clearfield, Utah put down 618 bricks for second place, collecting $4,000.
The competition had $125,000 in cash and prizes.
The championship winner was David Chavez and Guadalupe Hernandez with Ranch Masonry in Houston, Texas, laying down 678 bricks. Chavez also got the keys to a new Ford F250 4×4 Super Duty Truck, $5,000 in cash, and a Multiquip Essick Pro12 Mortar Mixer. Chavez became a two-time winner, as he also won the championship in 2018.
Looking back at the competition, staged in 90-degree weather, and placing third, Marrs said he is “pretty happy with that. It was a good day. The heat definitely affected our mortar but it was a struggle for everyone and it showed as the total brick numbers were down from normal. When I got done with the wall, I was not overly confident with what I accomplished until I realized everyone is down” in the overall number of bricks laid.
“There are so many walls that were pretty even and I had no idea until they announced the winners and it was a little bit of a surprise. I am happy, absolutely, it was pretty exciting. It makes you want to come back and do it again,” Marrs said.
“We are almost there and are within reach” of getting the championship, he said.
Marrs and Savant will compete again in October in Illinois in a regional with hopes of returning to the championships to be held in January or February in Las Vegas next year.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.
