National Plumbing Competition Draws Top Talent to SkillsUSA Championship in Atlanta
The annual SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference once again brought the nation’s top plumbing talent to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The two-day competition featured exceptional men and women of all ages vying for gold, silver and bronze medals.
The 2026 National Plumbing Competition drew 48 of the country’s top plumbing students enrolled in high school, vocational, technical and post-secondary schools. Each sporting matching blue work uniforms, safety glasses and steel-toe boots, this year’s contestants earned their spot on the national stage by winning a rigorous local or state competition to qualify.
Over the course of a day and a half, the competitors put their plumbing skills, STEM knowledge and good old-fashion elbow grease to the test. The timed event required them to rough-in a bathroom using copper, PVC and cast-iron piping materials, showcasing their proficiency with cutting and assembling tools. In the end, nearly all of them successfully completed the complex assignment with six taking home top honors across the secondary and post-secondary categories.
The 2026 winners are:
Secondary category
- GOLD – Beckham Dickson, Davis Technical College, Kaysville, Utah
- SILVER – Joseph Grzegorczyk, Bay Arenac ISD Career Center, Bay City, Michigan
- BRONZE – Parker Haydt, Bethlehem AVTS, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Post-secondary
- GOLD – Anton Allen, Western Dakota Technical College, Rapid City, South Dakota
- SILVER – Agustin Gonzalez-Lopez, Erwin Technical College, Tampa, Florida
- BRONZE – David Thompson, Davis Technical College, Kaysville, Utah
To learn more about SkillsUSA, visit: https://www.skillsusa.org/.