“He’s just a good human being,” James “Jimmy” Riley Jr. said.

Riley is the owner of Riley Plumbing and Heating, Seidel’s employer for the past 25 years. While technically his boss, Riley said Seidel is “like a son” to him.

In 1999, when Seidel graduated from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology with an associate’s in plumbing technology, he said there weren’t many people getting hired.

“Jim Riley (Sr.) brought me in, even though he probably didn’t need me, and I’ve been working here ever since,” he said.

Mike Seidel of Riley Plumbing and Heating was a finalist in the National Plumbing Championships. The event was filmed and will air on CBS Sports on December 13. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Finishing what he started

Before Seidel became a master plumber, his uncle, Dave Wendle, said he was a “skinny little guy” with a good work ethic.

“Actually, his grandfather was a pipe and boiler fitter in Tyrone,” Wendle said.

When asked how he got into plumbing, Seidel said “to mess around with my grandpa,” but admitted that he didn’t originally want to be a plumber.

“I got into vo-tech in construction class and got kicked out because I didn’t cut my hair,” said Seidel, sporting a bald head. “I had very long hair then.”

Seidel tried electricity but “didn’t really care for it,” then met with the plumbing teacher to ask if he cared about long hair.

“He said ‘absolutely not,'” Seidel said. “So that’s it. I got into (the plumbing program).”

However, Seidel wasn’t done trying programs. When he took the entrance exam at Thaddeus Stevens, he wanted to be an auto mechanic. Although his scores weren’t high enough for their automotive program, they were good enough for plumbing.

“I remember asking my instructor if I was going to get anything out of this program or if I was wasting my time,” Seidel said. “He… made a comment to me about finishing what I started.”

Seidel said he had been there for two days, but took note of the comment and, if not for that conversation, probably would have quit.

“My mom always told me if I didn’t go to school, I’d be a ditch digger,” Seidel said. “And to be honest, when I started (at Riley), all I did was dig ditches. I spent a lot of time tearing out basement floors and replacing sewer lines. I thought “man, I went to school to do the exact same thing I wasn’t supposed to do.”

The numbers crunched

Seidel had an accelerated apprenticeship due to his studies and became a master plumber by the age of 20. He also studied the estimate and said Riley Jr. asked him if he would be interested in doing an estimate for a project.

“It was a job we had already completed, so I knew exactly what it was going to cost,” Seidel said. “I beat (Jim) Sr. by 3 or 4 percent.”

Seidel estimates about 16 or 17 years at Riley’s, he said, and it remains a friendly competition.

“We’re usually close enough that he gets one, I get one,” Riley Jr. said.

Riley said Seidel is an even better person outside of the office, benefiting cancer research and donating to those in need.

“Don’t say too much about it,” Riley said. “You might find out about it, but a lot of things he does behind the scenes.”

The sentiment goes both ways, as Seidel said “the Rileys are one of the nicest families” she’s ever met.

“It’s very family oriented,” Seidel said.

In fact, Riley’s son, Michael Riley, told Seidel about the National Plumbing Championships.

Making progress

Seidel said 2024 was the second year for the ServiceTitan Elite Trades Championship Series plumbing program.

“They’ve worked for years in electrical, automotive and even HVAC,” Seidel said.

The competition had three rounds, the first of which required completing online testing. The top 20 scores qualified for the second round and the highest score automatically advanced to the first round. Seidel said they had five minutes to answer as many multiple-choice questions correctly as possible. The most he achieved was 112.

“I would check my score with my oldest daughter, Paisley,” Seidel said. “I couldn’t get past number two.”

For round two, Seidel received a home kit with a timer and a box of fittings. He was asked to film himself building a predetermined assembly and performing a pressure test in 20 minutes. From there, the top five received an all-expenses-paid trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, to compete head-to-head with the tradesmen.

Just short

In the third round, each person in the plumbing championship was given an hour and a half to complete connecting a water line, setting a shower valve and adding a hose.

“It’s amazing how quickly an hour and a half goes by in that scenario,” Seidel said. “Especially when I hear that little timer say 30 minutes.”

Seidel admitted that the first place winner was the only person to actually complete the project.

“Maybe if I had six or seven more minutes,” Seidel said with a smile.

While Seidel won $7,000 for his efforts, what he really wanted was the “shiny stuff” — the gold pipe-themed trophy.

“That’s why I came in,” Seidel said. He also mourned the large novelty check he never received because he had planned to hang it in Riley’s office.

Wendle thought Seidel would be first because he “puts his heart into everything he does.” He described Seidel as a “focus” who “deserved some recognition”.

Seidel “would never have said a word” about the championship placing if it hadn’t been for his family spreading the word, Wendle said.

Riley said he also believed Seidel “had a good chance of winning the job.”

“To get to one of the top three people — I can’t say enough about him,” Riley said.

When asked if he thought Seidel would compete in the championships again, Riley said yes.

“It’s going to be hard for me to believe if he’s not there next year,” Riley said. “He doesn’t want to settle for second best and I think he can do it.”

Mirror staff writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.

The Seidel file

Name: Mike Seidel

Age: 46

Family: Wife, Jess; daughters, Paisley, 11, and Cali, 6; sister, Kendi; aunt and uncle, Patti and Dave Wendle.

Education: Altoona Area High School and Greater Altoona Career and Technical Center Class of 1997; associate degree in plumbing technology from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, class of 1999.

Employment: 31 years in plumbing, four with GACTC, two with Thaddeus Stevens and 25 with Riley Plumbing.

In the air

The 2024 National Facilities Championships have been filmed and will be broadcast on CBS Sports. Times have not yet been announced.

December 13: HVAC and plumbing

December 20: Automotive and electrical