FMCow Ohio State Summer 2024

Inside the Ohio Union in Columbus, Ohio, USA, the focused hum of twisting plastic and the rhythmic clicking of timers set the stage for a tense weekend of puzzle solving on June 22 and 23. A dedicated group of 31 solvers gathered for the multi-event contest, filling the rooms with sheets of analytical notations and speed tables. The atmosphere carried an intense focus as competitors analyzed scramble sheets and fine-tuned their hardware, setting up one of the tightest multi-event battles of the 2024 season.

The drama reached its peak in the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest, where a razor-thin gap determined the podium. Over three intense rounds of paper-and-pencil solving, Canada's Jack Lee clinched first place with a winning average of 23.67, narrowly edging out Brian Johnson from the USA, who finished second with a 24.33 average. Luke Garrett secured third on the podium with an average of 27.67. With mere fractions of a move separating the frontrunners across three attempts, the contest showed just how unforgiving the event can be.

Fewest Moves was not the only discipline where solvers pushed the envelope at FMCow Ohio State Summer 2024. Brian Johnson and Evan Brown each delivered standout showings in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, both putting up marks of 22.67 on average and individual solve counts of 19 and 22 moves, respectively. Carter Kucala delivered a 24.00 average, Simon Kellum posted a 24.33, and Luke Garrett recorded a 31.00. Jack Bohning, Harsha Paladugu, Dylan Cossin, Carson Miller, and Keenan Darkins also locked in verified marks during the rigorous three-round event, testing their tactical efficiency on standard Rubik's Cube scrambles.

Beyond the strategic calculations of FMC, standard speedcubing events delivered rapid showdowns. Luke Garrett claimed double gold, starting with Clock where he averaged 4.38 to take the title over Carter Kucala at 5.70 and Keenan Darkins at 6.07. Garrett followed up by conquering the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 51.11 with a fast single of 50.02. He topped Jack Pfeifer, who finished second with a 55.04 average, and Dylan Cossin, who completed the podium in 55.52. Garrett also took second place in the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:35.63.

Jack Pfeifer took top honors on the biggest puzzle of the weekend, winning the 7x7x7 Cube with an impressive 2:28.00 average and a single of 2:26.40, finishing ahead of Garrett and third-place Evan Brown, who averaged 2:58.14. Brian Johnson enjoyed an exceptional run across multiple formats. In addition to his silver in Fewest Moves, Johnson took victory in Skewb with a 2.40 winning average, besting Simon Kellum at 2.83 and Carter Kucala at 2.90. Johnson added another gold in Square-1, averaging 6.93 to lead Dominic Cater at 8.06 and Jacob Dyland Bennett at 9.21.

Away from the top of the podium, several competitors delivered massive personal breakthroughs. Wyatt Lynch tackled six separate disciplines, dropping his Square-1 mark to 35.58, an improvement of 53.6 percent, while cutting his Skewb time to 7.41 and his Clock record to 24.25. Jameson Swick improved his Square-1 benchmark by 46.6 percent down to 31.02, made his first ever official attempt at 5x5x5 Cube with a 2:31.87 result, and posted his first 3x3x3 Fewest Moves attempt at 53 moves. Grant Daniel Po'oi brought his 5x5x5 Cube best down to 1:51.99, a 26.4 percent improvement, while Stavro Ghally cut his 5x5x5 Cube time by 14.2 percent to 3:03.07 and lowered his Clock mark to 24.82.

Other competitors took on brand-new puzzles or shaved crucial tenths off their existing marks across the weekend. Brennen Noll logged his first ever 7x7x7 Cube attempt, posting an 11:25.00, and lowered his Clock time by 17.2 percent to 11.06. Chris Nankervis completed his first official Square-1 attempt in 1:35.43 and improved his 7x7x7 Cube personal best to 6:02.95, a 7.3 percent drop. Chase Farrell registered his first ever 3x3x3 Fewest Moves attempt with 51 moves and dropped his Clock personal best to 10.03, while John Ulm brought his Clock benchmark down to 22.59.

Across six events and 11 distinct rounds, the gathering provided a complete showcase of speed cubing versatility, ranging from large-layer management to the rapid, mechanical execution of Square-1 and Clock. Fans following the 3x3 results in the Fewest Moves discipline saw a clinic in move efficiency, while the big cube and side event specialists traded razor-thin margins at every turn. Competitors from the United States gathered 17 podium positions, with Canada taking one podium spot.

As the equipment was packed away at the Ohio Union, this cubing competition reinforced the high level of preparation required in contemporary speed solving. The weekend demonstrated that whether calculating a single solution over sixty minutes or executing an average in a matter of seconds, modern events reward absolute precision. Solvers left Columbus ready to build on these hard-earned marks as they look forward to future challenges across the WCA competition circuit.