CM Students Sweep Regional Invitational
Cal Poly Construction Management Students Sweep Regional Invitational
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly construction management students garnered four first-place trophies at the Associated Schools of Construction Region 3 Division Competition on Oct. 17. This is the first year that Cal Poly has swept first place in all of the open categories. It is also the sixth year Professor Greg Starzyk has taken at least one team to Downers Grove, IL. to compete in one of the competition’s open categories.
"There was something special about all four of this year's teams. They worked so well together that they made the work appear effortless. You could feel the trust and support that they gave to each other, “noted Starzyk.
The four teams, consisting of six students each, began practicing in the spring quarter. Because Cal Poly is a quarter school, it is necessary to get such an early start since the Region 3 competition starts on October 17th. Once, classes begin in September, the teams have just under a month to fine tune their skills.
ASC Region 3 consists of schools from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. While there are seven categories open to all ASC Region 3 schools, four of those are open to teams from any ASC school in the nation. The open national categories are Concrete, Electrical, Preconstruction, and Project Solutions. These four categories had 7 teams, 5 teams, 8 teams & 9 teams competing respectively.
4th year construction management student Harrison Woods of the Concrete Team, spent his summer internship preparing for this competition.
“Over the summer I participated in the carpenter’s apprenticeship internship with a concrete subcontractor, Largo Concrete, INC. I continued to ask as many questions as I could come up with, trying to form them with the needs of my (competition) team in mind.”
But preparing can only get you so far. The majority of work takes place on the Thursday of the competition with the teams sequestered in their rooms. Once the deliverables (bid proposals, estimates, schedules, change orders, etc.) are dropped off Thursday night, teams are given until Friday to practice how they will present to the judges.
“The greatest challenge is time management. Given that we had more than 24 hours between the assignment of the prompt and the meeting with the judges, most would think that there would be a surplus of time, however, our attempt to understand the project as thoroughly as possible meant every hour was valuable to us,” said 4th year construction management student Arlen Hartoonian, also a member of the Concrete Team.
For complete competition results, go to http://ascregion3.wixsite.com/ascregion3
For more information about Cal Poly’s Construction Management Department and to see photos of the winning teams, go to construction.calpoly.edu/content/competitions-and-awards/asc-3.
