Cube Days at SEK 2026

Three big cube titles and a blistering national record defined the weekend at Colegio Internacional SEK, where Kyle McDonald Trejos delivered a commanding display across multiple disciplines. Solving against the best talent in the region, McDonald Trejos turned the large puzzles into his personal showcase. His standout campaign highlighted two full days of high-level speedcubing action in San José, Curridabat, Costa Rica from September 26 to September 27. Competitors gathered to push their limits across a packed program of 13 official events, setting the tone for an electric 2026 cubing competition calendar.

The 5x5x5 Cube proved to be the centerpiece of McDonald Trejos's dominant run. On his way to clinching top honors with an average of 1:00.81, he registered a sensational single of 48.85 seconds to secure a fresh Costa Rican national record. He held off stiff competition in the final standings, as Sebastián Herrera Pomares took second place with a 1:04.49 average and David Calderón Arce took third with a 1:04.98 mark. That performance anchored a brilliant multi-puzzle stretch that established McDonald Trejos as the premier big cube solver of the meet.

McDonald Trejos carried that same authority directly into the remaining large-layer challenges. In the 6x6x6 Cube, he took victory with an average time of 1:46.49, finishing well clear of runner-up Sebastián Herrera Pomares at 2:09.88 and third-place David Calderón Arce at 2:18.36. The 7x7x7 Cube brought another decisive gold for McDonald Trejos, whose 2:37.27 winning result led the field ahead of Herrera Pomares at 3:06.03 and Fabián Alonso Madriz Chaves at 3:53.36. Adding to his podium count, McDonald Trejos also captured second place in the 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.07 average, finishing just behind David Calderón Arce's winning 3.00 result.

While McDonald Trejos commanded the big cubes, Sebastián Herrera Pomares produced his own historic achievements at Cube Days at SEK 2026. In 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, Herrera Pomares solved the puzzle in just 31 moves, capturing the gold medal and establishing a new Costa Rican national record single. Carlos Andres Gonzaga finished in second place with 42 moves, while Gabriel Montano Loría and Jose Daniel Solano Rodríguez tied for third with 47 moves each. Herrera Pomares added another title in the 4x4x4 Cube, winning with a 30.51 average over McDonald Trejos at 35.22 and Calderón Arce at 36.26.

The classic 3x3x3 Cube delivered thrilling speed cubing drama of its own, with Christian Rodríguez claiming the victory on the strength of an 8.33 final average. The 3x3 results saw David Calderón Arce lock down the silver medal at 8.79, while Sebastián Herrera Pomares rounded out the podium in third at 9.25. Rodríguez also left his mark in 3x3x3 One-Handed, setting a national record average of 11.75 seconds. In the Skewb event, Dagne Poveda secured first place with an average of 4.17, followed by Calderón Arce at 4.50 and Madriz Chaves at 5.20.

A major part of any WCA competition happens away from the medal ceremonies, as solvers push through personal milestones across the schedule. Liam Josué Alvarez Vargas unlocked immense speed, cutting his 2x2x2 Cube best to 14.21 seconds, an improvement of 53.3 percent, while taking his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 31.45 seconds, which was 39.8 percent faster. Josué David Morán lowered his Skewb mark to 5.18 seconds for a 51.2 percent improvement alongside a 9.09 Pyraminx best. Alejandro Brenes Araya achieved a 16.27 in Skewb, dropping his previous benchmark by 42.5 percent, and set a 48.33 in the classic Rubik's Cube. Mathias Laurent Zúñiga entered seven events, making first career attempts in Skewb at 6.33 and Square-1 at 52.38 while improving his 4x4x4 Cube best to 1:04.00, a 29.9 percent drop.

Other dedicated competitors embraced brand new challenges with equal resolve. Fabián Emmanuel Guzmán Calderón tackled eight events, placing fourth in Skewb, recording his first official attempts in Megaminx at 1:32.55 and Square-1 at 26.92, and lowering his Pyraminx best by 22.4 percent to 3.71 seconds. Leonardo Elizondo Alvarado entered five events and finished fourth in Clock, posting an initial 11.85 attempt in that event and a 57.32 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Samuel Ballestero Aguilar took on ten disciplines, securing sixth place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves while logging his first attempts in Clock at 23.88 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:18.33. Making his official debut, Samuel Bermúdez Solano competed in three events, setting baseline marks of 30.96 in 3x3x3 Cube, 10.85 in 2x2x2 Cube, and 12.70 in Pyraminx.

The record book continued to expand throughout the schedule, demonstrating the depth of Costa Rican solving across various specialties. Dagne Poveda dominated the Clock event with a double national record performance, posting a single of 7.76 seconds and an average of 9.04 seconds. In Square-1, Jose Daniel Solano Rodríguez etched his name into the record lists by establishing a national record average of 11.32 seconds. Altogether, local competitors swept all 40 podium positions available across the tournament program.

From Kyle McDonald Trejos sweeping the largest cubes to a barrage of national records in multiple disciplines, Cube Days at SEK 2026 proved to be an unforgettable showcase of technical precision. The weekend in Curridabat highlighted both veteran mastery on the main stage and widespread progress across the entire solving community. As competitors pack away their timers and puzzles, the bar for national speedcubing excellence has once again been raised.