Back to School Utah 2024

The competition floor inside the Utah County Academy of Sciences was packed with activity as 138 competitors gathered for a full schedule of puzzle solving. Timers flashed across multiple stations while judges kept pace with rapid solve attempts throughout the venue. The single-day speedcubing tournament on August 24, 2024, brought a high level of energy to Provo, Utah, USA, testing solvers across four distinct disciplines and nine total rounds of head-to-head play.

Across the entire day, Wilson Hettinger asserted absolute control at the tables, capturing titles in two separate events to emerge as the weekend standout. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed competition, Hettinger navigated through a field of 76 entrants to claim first place with a winning average of 13.45 seconds and a best single of 12.19 seconds. Canyon Pettitt took second place with a 14.39 average, while Anthony J. Telford finished third with an average of 14.65 seconds.

Hettinger followed that commanding performance with another victory in the 2x2x2 Cube, topping a massive group of 120 competitors across two rounds. Hettinger posted a winning average of 2.64 seconds alongside a best single solve of 1.66 seconds to secure the gold. Eric Pesci took the runner-up position on the podium with an average of 2.78 seconds, and Evan Beck earned third place with a 3.06 average in the final round.

The classic Rubik's Cube drew the largest turnout of the competition, featuring 132 participants battling across four rigorous rounds. In the final stage, Eric Pesci captured the top spot on the podium with a winning average of 7.76 seconds, backed by a tournament-best single of 6.56 seconds. The official 3x3 results saw Canyon Pettitt take second place with an average of 9.12 seconds, while Adam Carpenter completed the podium in third place with a 9.42 average.

Beyond the top podium steps, this WCA competition saw impressive personal breakthroughs across all age groups and skill brackets. Logan Jack Madsen dropped his Pyraminx personal best down to 7.02 seconds, cutting 60.3 percent from his previous mark of 17.68, while also lowering his 2x2x2 mark to 9.77 seconds and his 3x3x3 mark to 29.16 seconds. Cooper Hicks took on four events, setting a 2x2x2 personal best of 3.20 seconds to run 60.2 percent faster than before, reducing his 3x3x3 time to 15.56 seconds, and completing his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 46.51 seconds. Brayden Parker took on four events and delivered a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 45.69 seconds, improving by 58.1 percent over his prior best of 1:48.97, alongside improvements in 2x2x2 to 4.60 seconds and Pyraminx to 8.14 seconds. River Jessen improved across three disciplines, cutting 56.5 percent on 2x2x2 with a 6.91 best, lowering 3x3x3 to 24.15 seconds, and trimming Pyraminx to 7.71 seconds.

The progress continued with Terry Dilts, who logged a 12.32 personal best in Pyraminx to finish 55.3 percent faster than their previous best of 27.58 seconds, alongside a 15.61 best in 3x3x3 and a 4.68 best in 2x2x2. Camden Davies completed four events, recording their first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 1:06.52, while setting personal records of 5.96 seconds in Pyraminx and 6.44 seconds in 2x2x2. Ethan Horton took on four events, setting a 4.58 mark on 2x2x2 that was 47.7 percent faster, a 14.54 on 3x3x3, and a first ever 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 1:13.77. Ty Davis took on three events, posting a first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 8.50 seconds, a 3x3x3 personal best of 16.37 seconds that was 46 percent faster, and a 2x2x2 best of 6.16 seconds.

The Pyraminx event brought fast-paced turning to the arena, with Canyon Pettitt securing victory among 106 competitors. Pettitt locked in a winning average of 3.10 seconds and delivered a best single of 2.58 seconds over two rounds of play. Adam Carpenter claimed second place with a 5.09 average, while Damian Wilding placed third with an average of 5.69 seconds, finalizing an all-American podium sweep in the event.

The tournament highlighted the competitive depth of regional speed cubing, with athletes representing the United States securing all twelve available podium spots throughout the day. From the four-round gauntlet of the main puzzle to specialized single-handed and mechanical variants, Back to School Utah 2024 delivered sharp competition and numerous milestone achievements for the regional solving community.

As the equipment was packed away at the Utah County Academy of Sciences, competitors concluded a demanding day of official solves. With dual event champion Wilson Hettinger leading the charge and dozens of personal records rewritten, the cubing competition set a high standard for the upcoming season of regional tournaments across the region in 2024.