Black Hills Cube Rush 2024

Four victories across eight events established Ryan Schock as the commanding presence at Black Hills Cube Rush 2024. Held on March 16, 2024, at the Hilton Garden Inn Rapid City in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA, the single-day cubing competition brought together 25 competitors for 15 total rounds of intense action. Schock wasted no time setting the standard, securing gold in events spanning multiple puzzle categories and leaving a decisive mark on the entire gathering.

Schock began his haul by mastering the 2x2x2 Cube, where he delivered a winning average of 3.77 and a best single of 2.16 across two rounds featuring 24 competitors. Joshua Hannant took second with a 3.99 average, while Ben Tibbetts rounded out the podium at 4.23. The 2x2x2 event proved exceptionally competitive across the board, generating a series of personal milestone marks for nearly a dozen solvers throughout the preliminary stages.

Stepping up to larger hardware, Schock dominated the 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 37.54 and a best single of 36.22 across two rounds of 17 competitors. Ben Tibbetts finished in the runner-up spot with a 44.02 average, followed by Shain Papalotl Longbehn at 48.07. Schock extended his versatility in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, taking top honors with an 18.00 average and a single of 14.50, once again outpacing Tibbetts and Longbehn.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline demanded immense focus and memorisation, where solvers tackle the Rubik's Cube completely sightless. Schock claimed his fourth title of Black Hills Cube Rush 2024 by lodging a single solve of 1:53.75, which stood as the winning mark among four competitors. Caden Tullous earned second place with a successful attempt of 4:17.69, completing a difficult single-round bracket where Tibbetts and Longbehn both registered DNFs.

While Schock controlled half the schedule, Ben Tibbetts produced outstanding speedcubing performances to claim three titles of his own. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, Tibbetts topped a 24-person field over three rounds, posting a 10.33 winning average and a single of 7.36. Hannant secured second place in the 3x3 3x3 results with a 10.97 average, edging Schock, who placed third with an 11.08 mark.

Tibbetts also claimed gold in Pyraminx with a 4.57 average and a 3.99 single, holding off Schock at 4.83 and Hannant at 7.04. He followed that up by capturing the Skewb title with a 4.43 average ahead of Tullous at 6.16 and Schock at 6.60. Meanwhile, the specialized Square-1 event belonged to Shain Papalotl Longbehn, who produced a winning average of 11.59 and a 9.39 single to win ahead of Tibbetts and Schock.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones away from the spotlight. Preston Oerlline completed his first career attempt at Pyraminx in 14.54 and dropped his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 9.60, a 44.7 percent improvement from his prior 17.36 mark. Leonidas Vladimir Vaughn Holloman entered seven events, taking fourth in Square-1 while achieving a 5.15 Skewb personal best that was 45 percent faster than before, alongside personal bests of 54.54 in 4x4x4 Cube and 38.56 in Square-1. Andrew Rigsby entered six events, finishing fourth in 2x2x2 Cube while logging his first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 43.35, plus a 1:03.76 in 4x4x4 Cube that was 22 percent faster. Elijah Heilman took on six events, trimming his 2x2x2 personal best by 36.1 percent down to 3.17.

The depth of progress continued across the field as David Kesler logged his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 2:32.48 and cut his 3x3x3 Cube best to 32.95, a 14.5 percent improvement. Ryan Baumiller advanced to a fourth-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube while cutting his one-handed mark by 27.8 percent to 29.57. First-time WCA competition participants also delivered solid debuts, with Christian Carley recording a best finish of 11th in Skewb and completing his first 3x3x3 solve in 20.75, while Augustus VonHaden placed ninth in Skewb with an 11.90 mark and posted a 4.18 in his first 2x2x2 attempt.

With all 25 podium spots secured by United States competitors, Black Hills Cube Rush 2024 wrapped up as a comprehensive showcase of regional speed cubing skill. The single-day tournament highlighted both elite multi-event consistency and meaningful developmental leaps for newcomers in South Dakota. As the speedcubing community moves deeper into the 2024 calendar, the benchmark times established in Rapid City set a high standard for the months ahead.