Riglife Leaderboards

The Riglife Driller Leaderboard recognises the drillers behind the rigs. The board ranks feet drilled, looped and grouted in one working day, checked against the drill log.

Submit a record See the leaderboard

Board record Geothermal · one working day

3,216 feet

980.2 M 8 × 402 ft holes

Driller: Nick Cornett
Company: Geothermal Earthworks Inc
Rig: GTD GT35
Site: Kentucky, USA

Three depths.
One working day.

Riglife skull: a skull in a stars-and-stripes hard hat over crossed pipe wrenches

Driller Leaderboard

Feet drilled with loops installed and grouted in one working day.

Submit a record

Rank 01

Rig

Driller

Nick Cornett

Geothermal Earthworks Inc · Kentucky, USA

3,216FT980.2 M · GT35 · 8 × 402 ft holes

3000 FT Club 1 FT ahead of second
Rank 02

Rig

Driller

Kieran Tincombe

Kensa · Netherlands

3,215FT980 M · GT60 · 6 holes, various depths

3000 FT Club 1 FT behind #1
Rank 03

Rig

Driller

Robert Ballantyne

Kensa · Netherlands

3,051FT930 M · GT35 · 6 holes, various depths

3000 FT Club 164 FT behind #2

34 records

Geothermal driller leaderboard, ranked by feet drilled in one working day
Rank	Driller	Company	Rig & holes	Depth in one day	Club
1	Nick Cornett US Geothermal Earthworks Inc	Geothermal Earthworks Inc	GT358 × 402 ft holes · Kentucky, USA	3,216 FT980.2 M	3000 FT
2	Kieran Tincombe UK Kensa	Kensa	GT606 holes, various depths · Netherlands	3,215 FT980 M	3000 FT
3	Robert Ballantyne SCO Kensa	Kensa	GT356 holes, various depths · Netherlands	3,051 FT930 M	3000 FT
=4	SB Scott Bouck US Midwest	Midwest	GT356 × 425 ft holes	2,550 FT777 M	2000 FT
=4	DK DJ Kutzli US Midwest	Midwest	GT356 × 425 ft holes	2,550 FT777 M	2000 FT
5	Robert Bischoff US American Well Pump Master Driller 2025	American Well Pump	GT355 × 425 ft holes	2,125 FT648 M	2000 FT
6	Charles Maddox US Chesapeake	Chesapeake	GT35	1,940 FT591 M	1000 FT
7	Jonathan Lefebvre CA Forage Metropolitain inc	Forage Metropolitain inc	GT353 × 640 ft holes	1,920 FT585 M	1000 FT
8	Joe Soukup US QC Geothermal Master Driller 2024	QC Geothermal	GT356 × 310 ft holes	1,860 FT567 M	1000 FT
9	Bird Nightwalker US QC Geothermal	QC Geothermal	GT353 × 600 ft holes	1,800 FT560 M	1000 FT
10	CJ Caiden Jensen US Midwest	Midwest	GT354 × 425 ft holes	1,700 FT518 M	1000 FT
11	TS Tommy Seickel US American Well Pump	American Well Pump	GT353 × 550 ft holes	1,650 FT503 M	1000 FT
12	Paul Fowler UK GT Drilling	GT Drilling	GT354 × 120 m holes	1,575 FT480 M	1000 FT
13	JP Jefrin P US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,520 FT463 M	1000 FT
=14	WM Wuilman M US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,515 FT461 M	1000 FT
=14	KS Kim S US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,515 FT461 M	1000 FT
=14	AC Alexander C US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,515 FT461 M	1000 FT
=15	JB Jeff Bischoff US American Well Pump	American Well Pump	GT35	1,500 FT457 M	1000 FT
=15	FM Freddy M US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,500 FT457 M	1000 FT
=15	EP Edgar P US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,500 FT457 M	1000 FT
=15	Chris Fuson US Geothermal Earthworks Inc	Geothermal Earthworks Inc	GT35Kentucky, USA	1,500 FT457 M	1000 FT
16	Coty Kaizer US Brightcore	Brightcore	GT353 × 485 ft holes	1,456 FT444 M	1000 FT
17	AL Andrew L US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,395 FT425 M	1000 FT
18	Ryan Wilkinson UK Geo Drill	Geo Drill	GT352 × 201 m holes	1,319 FT402 M	1000 FT
19	MC Manuel C US Allied Geothermal	Allied Geothermal	GT35	1,280 FT390 M	1000 FT
=20	Nate Grace US Morris Shea Bridge Company	Morris Shea Bridge Company	GT35	1,230 FT375 M	1000 FT
=20	Caleb Groves US Morris Shea Bridge Company	Morris Shea Bridge Company	GT35	1,230 FT375 M	1000 FT
=20	Corbin Criswell US Morris Shea Bridge Company	Morris Shea Bridge Company	GT35	1,230 FT375 M	1000 FT
=21	PP Paul Printz US Crabtree Drilling	Crabtree Drilling	GT354 × 300 ft holes	1,200 FT365.8 M	1000 FT
=21	Larry Fuson US Geothermal Earthworks Inc	Geothermal Earthworks Inc	GT35Kentucky, USA	1,200 FT365.7 M	1000 FT
22	AG Andrew Gough CA Landshark Drilling	Landshark Drilling	GT60	1,100 FT335 M	1000 FT
23	Joseph Dowell US Morris Shea Bridge Company	Morris Shea Bridge Company	GT60DD	1,080 FT329 M	1000 FT
24	Trevor Edmundson US Brightcore	Brightcore	GT35	1,050 FT320 M	1000 FT
25	Michael Corbin US Geothermal Earthworks Inc	Geothermal Earthworks Inc	GT35Kentucky, USA	1,000 FT304.8 M	1000 FT

Drillers on the same depth share a rank, marked with =.

Master Driller

Highest honor for a driller whose production, consistency, leadership, safe operation, and GTD mindset set the standard.

Nominate a Master Driller

2025

Robert Bischoff

American Well Pump

On the board: #5 · 2,125 FT
2024

Joe Soukup

QC Geothermal

On the board: #8 · 1,860 FT

.mdc .nominate.is-armed .nominate__drawer{grid-template-rows:1fr}.mdc .nominate.is-armed .nominate__drawer-in{opacity:1;translate:none;overflow:visible;visibility:visible}.mdc .nominate .nominate__close{display:none}

Nominate a Master Driller

Nominations come from the people who know the driller best: their employer, their crew, the drillers beside them, their family. Tell us who they are and how they work. We read every one, and we check with the people around them.

Not the same as the leaderboard. A record is one day’s footage. Master Driller is the whole driller, awarded once a year.

ProductionFootage, day after day, not one good shift.
ConsistencyThe same standard on hard ground and easy ground.
LeadershipHow the crew runs when this driller is on site.
Safe operationNobody hurt, nothing cut short.
GTD mindsetGets the job done, and done right.

01The driller

Driller’s full name *

Enter the name of the driller you’re nominating.

Company they drill for *

Enter the company they drill for.

Their role optional

Where they’re based optional

Country *

Choose a country.

Years drilling optional

Enter the years drilling as a number, like 12.

Already on the leaderboard? optional

02Who they are

The person behind the controls *

0 / 40+ characters

Tell us who they are. A few sentences is plenty.

03How they work

On the job *

0 / 40+ characters

Tell us how they work. Specifics beat adjectives: footage, jobs, how the crew runs.

04Stories optional

A day, a job or a moment that says who they are

Photos of the driller optional Add photos At the rig if you have one. JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 5, 10 MB each. Nothing is published without asking.

05About you

How do you know them? *

Their employer A fellow driller On their crew Family A customer Someone else

Choose how you know the driller.

Your name *

Enter your name.

Your email *

Enter an email address we can reply to, like [email protected].

Phone optional

We need your OK to contact you and, if they win, to publish the driller’s name.

Drillers of the Year

Highest honor for a drilling contractor whose production, consistency, leadership, safe operation, and GTD mindset set the standard.

Drillers of the Year 2025: Allied Geothermal

Laurel, Maryland

In the field

26+ years

Coverage

15 states, New England to Georgia

Fleet

40+ drilling rigs

Crew

200+ people

08 Drillers on the board

1,520ft Best day on the board
alliedgeothermal.com
Drillers of the Year 2024: Midwest Geothermal

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Founded

2007

Coverage

Nationwide, California to New Jersey

Fleet

11 drilling rigs

Crew

100+ people

Installed

About 7 million bore feet

03 Drillers on the board

2,550ft Best day on the board
mwgeothermal.com

A Riglife winner’s pack on a mud-caked toolbox at a drill site at sunset: the Driller buckle in its box, trucker caps, t-shirts, hoodie, wallet and a Dixxon flannel shirt

What winners receive

You can buy the gear — the buckles must be earned.

The buckle: Custom silver belt buckle from Molly’s Custom Silver
The pack: Trucker caps

T-shirts

Hoodie

Dixxon flannel shirt

Crazy Horse leather wallet

Stickers, patches & keyrings

Shop the gear

Drilled it?
Put it on the board.

Submit a record See the leaderboard

Riglife Leaderboards

Three depths.
One working day.

1,000 FT Club

2,000 FT Club

3,000 FT Club

Driller Leaderboard

Nick Cornett

Kieran Tincombe

Robert Ballantyne

Master Driller

Robert Bischoff

Joe Soukup

Nominate a Master Driller

Drillers of the Year

Drillers of the Year 2025: Allied Geothermal

Drillers of the Year 2024: Midwest Geothermal

Submit a Record

What winners receive

Drilled it?
Put it on the board.

Riglife Leaderboards

Three depths.One working day.

1,000 FT Club

2,000 FT Club

3,000 FT Club

Driller Leaderboard

Nick Cornett

Kieran Tincombe

Robert Ballantyne

Master Driller

Robert Bischoff

Joe Soukup

Nominate a Master Driller

Drillers of the Year

Drillers of the Year 2025: Allied Geothermal

Drillers of the Year 2024: Midwest Geothermal

Submit a Record

What winners receive

Drilled it?Put it on the board.

Three depths.
One working day.

Drilled it?
Put it on the board.