Sukut Construction sponsored and attended the 36th annual Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Regions 6 and 7 competition in Reno, NV. The 2023 ASC event took place February 8th through 11th and brought together 1,613 students from 57 universities and 170 companies across the country.
Sukut has sponsored and coached the California State University Long Beach, CSULB, heavy civil engineering students for over a decade. Each year, there is consistent growth and improvement in the students’ performance. The Region 7 – Heavy Civil CSULB came in eighth place in 2019, sixth in 2020, third in 2021, and second in 2022. This year, the team competed against 17 other schools and placed third.
The team, composed of Derek Tran, Alvin Wong, Gabriel Sollano, Tom Vu, Edgar Prado, and Clay Cosue, was coached by Jacob Witucki, Lizette Nunez, Nathan Rodriguez, Ray Sollano, and John Pena of Sukut and CSULB’s Assistant Professor Vahid Balali. The team began their training for this competition in August 2022.
In the early morning of February 9th, the students received their problem statements representing heavy civil engineering construction projects. The teams had 16 hours to study the project and prepare comprehensive bid packages that were then turned over to Granite Construction, a sponsor of the Region 7 student competition.
The students used the knowledge they gained over months of training sessions with the coaches to develop a complete understanding of how to construct the project, including calculating the cost, creating a schedule and work plans, listing project challenges, and outlining solutions.
The next day’s presentations were in front of a panel of judges and the audience composed of fellow students, construction companies, ASC staff, and university professors which understandably put an added amount of pressure on the students. However, Sukut and CSULB staff were tremendously proud of their team’s performance and ability to address the questions coming from the judges following the presentation. This possession of required skills and knowledge, along with the coaches’ mentorship before the event, drove the CSULB team to place in the top three. “I witnessed the hard work and dedication of the CSULB team as they prepared during the months leading up to this competition. Their performance in the event is a testament to those efforts, and it was exciting to watch their presentation, “said Nick Osborne, Vice President, Chief Estimator at Sukut.
Witucki was with the CSULB team as the placements were announced. “I have coached CSULB’s team for three years now, and every year has been a greater success. The best story I can share is one of the students’ competitive spirits: when the team heard that they had placed third, they were ecstatic that all their hard work had been rewarded, and yet there was a small sense of dissatisfaction I noticed from them. After receiving their awards, they told me that with all their previous Reno accomplishments, first place was the only award that would have satisfied them, and they felt as if they had failed. I reminded them that their competitive spirit has led them to success three years in a row, and their continued growth and competitive attitude would only turn them into greater competitors in the construction industry. I am very proud of this year’s students and their impressive competitive attitude,” said Witucki. Being a CSULB alumnus himself, Witucki competed on a heavy civil team in Reno in 2018 and 2019 before joining Sukut as an intern in 2019. He now serves as a take-off lead at Sukut.
About Sukut:
Sukut Construction is one of America’s leading heavy civil engineering general contractors with over 50 years of proven industry expertise on residential, public, commercial, and industrial projects. Sukut has received over 50 industry awards and recognitions for its unparalleled civil engineering expertise in work areas that include alternative energy, emergency response, flood control, water control, excavation, land remediation, landfill maintenance, recreation development, resorts development, shoring techniques, transportation, underground utilities, large water systems, and water infrastructure. In addition to its vast array of services, Sukut excels at developing and implementing innovative, technologically-sound solutions to confront the most challenging land development, natural resource, and environmentally friendly energy issues throughout the United States. From employing a fully GPS-guided company-owned fleet of over 275 pieces of heavy equipment to developing proprietary technology for heavy civil engineering and logistics, Sukut’s 54-year track record has elevated its work process to revolutionary and creative practice. This approach makes Sukut time and cost-efficient on every project.