Cubing with the Cougars WV 2025

Michael Nielsen set the tone for the early 2025 season by delivering a blistering 1.42 winning average in Pyraminx to highlight an action-packed weekend in West Virginia. Held at Jefferson High School from February 1 to February 2, Cubing with the Cougars WV 2025 gave 122 competitors an ideal early-year platform to establish form across eight distinct disciplines. The gathering brought together athletes across 14 rounds of high-stakes solving, serving as an important benchmark on the speedcubing calendar as competitors tested their setups and stamina for the months ahead.

The centerpiece of any cubing competition remains the classic 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube, and the final round did not disappoint. Michael Nielsen secured his status as the standout competitor of the weekend by capturing first place with a 7.35 average, bolstered by the round's best single solve of 6.21 seconds. The 3x3 results saw razor-thin margins at the top of the table, with Blake Thompson claiming second place on a 7.43 average and Brayden Adams securing the third podium spot with a 7.93 mark out of a crowded field of 113 entrants.

Nielsen added yet another gold to his tally in the 2x2x2 Cube, where he topped a field of 104 competitors across two rounds with a 1.48 winning average and a lightning-quick 1.11 single. Wesley Chase followed closely behind in second position with a 1.79 average, while Evan Liu locked up third place at 2.09. Combined with his dominant Pyraminx victory, Nielsen finished the weekend with three individual event titles, proving sharp and composed under tournament conditions across both short-format twisty puzzles.

Aubrey Trace demonstrated remarkable versatility in the bigger mechanical puzzles, taking two titles at Cubing with the Cougars WV 2025. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Trace posted a winning average of 30.81, highlighted by a 27.98 single, narrowly holding off Clock champion Fiona Bao who finished second at 31.05 and Benjamin Christie in third at 32.79. Trace returned to the top of the podium in the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:51.50 across two rounds to best Walker Welch at 1:53.67 and Stone Payne at 1:57.16.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors made massive individual leaps across the weekend schedule. Jack Clarkson shaved serious time off previous marks, recording a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 4.39 seconds, an improvement of 66.2 percent over his previous best, alongside a 34 percent drop in 3x3x3 Cube to 26.78 and a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed at 56.31. Lukas Tetteh took on seven events, achieving a 45.52 in 3x3x3 One-Handed to improve by 64.6 percent, cutting 43.3 percent in Pyraminx down to 6.79, and logging a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:20.62. Nikolas Warner notched an 11th-place finish in Clock while lowering his Pyraminx personal best by 49.1 percent to 4.05 and posting his first 4x4x4 Cube mark of 1:57.81. Paulo Korowajczuk Nader completed seven events, securing 16th place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a first attempt of 45 moves, while cutting his Pyraminx best by 46.6 percent to 5.79.

The progress continued across all levels of the tournament floor. Sawyer MacDonald achieved a 44.1 percent drop in his 4x4x4 Cube best, clocking 1:01.01, and completed his first 3x3x3 Fewest Moves attempt with 44 moves to finish 20th. Ian Noh tackled three events, registering a 25.5 percent improvement in 3x3x3 Cube to 17.19 while logging first career marks in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 37.40 and 2x2x2 Cube at 7.17. Jarom DeGiulio lowered his 4x4x4 Cube best by 23.2 percent to 1:04.32 and took his first cracks at Clock with an 11.60 and Fewest Moves with 45. Sriram Bhamidipati tackled six events at the competition, recording his first attempts at Pyraminx in 12.13, Clock in 30.23, and One-Handed in 1:02.85.

The remaining events produced exceptional standalone performances. Brayden Adams took first place in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a winning average of 13.61, outpacing Aubrey Trace at 14.01 and Michael Nielsen at 14.37. In Clock, Fiona Bao captured gold with a 3.17 average, leading Wesley Chase at 5.05 and Ledger Ramirez at 5.34. The analytical challenge of 3x3x3 Fewest Moves went to Walker Welch, who solved with a winning average of 23.00 moves to lead Trace at 27.67 and Liu at 31.67.

Every WCA competition carries significance for athletes building momentum, and Cubing with the Cougars WV 2025 provided the perfect proving ground in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, USA. With United States competitors securing all 24 podium placements across the eight events, the weekend demonstrated the depth of talent emerging this season. As speed cubing schedules expand through 2025, the sharp times and milestones logged at Jefferson High School serve as a formidable benchmark for the months of racing to come.