Plumber Three-Peats as HVAC National Champion
SELFIE TIME: Craig Childress and his wife, Rachel, celebrate his third consecutive win in the HVAC professionals division of the ServiceTitan Elite Trades Championship Series. Childress also won the plumbing title in 2023 and 2024.
Craig Childress, a plumber from Peabody, Massachusetts, won his third straight HVAC National Championship on October 10 during the ServiceTitan Elite Trades Championship Series finals.
Childress bested four other finalists in the professional division in a challenge that required each to install refrigerant and condensate piping to specifications on a Trane HVAC unit during the competition at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The finalists were on the clock — each had 90 minutes to complete the job.
First-place honors came with a $40,000 top prize.
“Three in a row means everything to me,” Childress told ServiceTitan’s Mike Persinger. “It’s something I never thought was possible.”
Alex Ivey of Mississippi took second place a $10,000 prize, and Scott Savage of New York finished third and won $5,000.
In addition to taking the HVAC title in 2023 and 2024, Childress also won the plumbing title in both of those years. He is a master plumber at Boston University.
In the championship’s HVAC apprentice division, Braden Reeser won the top prize of $20,000. Building on the work completed by the professional division finalists, the five apprentice finalists each had 90 minutes to set up an energy recovery ventilator (ERV), plus install an air cleaner, a UV air purifier, and a filtration system.
Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS
“Every day, we do this,” Reeser told ServiceTitan’s Eddie Wooten. “I know how everything goes together. It makes it a lot easier than if somebody didn’t know which way the pipe had to go. And I do measurements every day.”
Kirby Hess of Indiana took second and won a $10,000 prize, and Nathaniel Magner of Virginia finished third and won $5,000.
The apprentice competition finals featured Robin Cutshall, an HVAC technician from Portland, Oregon, who was the only woman in the field. Cutshall also made the finals in the apprentice division last year.
Reached after the event, Cutshall had praise for the other contenders.
“It was a healthy competition, and they all did an incredible job,” she said.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
