Hudson Valley 2023

Ninety-three competitors gathered under one roof as Hudson Valley 2023 brought speedcubing energy to Fishkill, New York, USA on November 19, 2023. Held at the Comfort Suites Fishkill, the single-day gathering provided an intense slate of five distinct events spanning eleven rounds. Beyond the ticking timers and podium chases, the tournament hall bustled with mutual encouragement, shared solve techniques, and the familiar clatter of plastic mechanisms across warm-up tables.

The flagship Rubik's Cube division drew all 93 entrants across three hard-fought rounds of speed cubing action. Tommy Cherry took top honors in the final, securing first place with a winning average of 7.54 seconds alongside a best single of 6.71 seconds. Juliette Sébastien earned second place with a 7.96 final average, while Zayn Khanani captured third with an 8.18 average. In earlier rounds, Alex Niedland registered an eye-catching single of 5.80 seconds and an average of 6.53 seconds.

Specialty disciplines gave competitors a welcome change of pace between the main rounds of the cubing competition. In the Clock event, 52 solvers took to the tables across two rounds, where Tommy Cherry added a second victory to his tally by averaging 4.39 seconds, complemented by a lightning-fast 3.30 single. Kyle Meade took second place with a 4.69 average, followed by Evan Liu in third with a 5.34 mark.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest featured 71 participants over two rounds, testing mastery of larger twisty puzzles. Juliette Sébastien delivered a commanding performance to claim the win with a 28.28 average and the event best single of 25.04 seconds. Tommy Cherry placed second with an average of 31.30, and Evan Liu secured another podium spot in third with a 33.58 average.

Fast-paced rotating puzzles brought high excitement to the afternoon schedule. Zayn Khanani topped the 62-competitor Skewb lineup, capturing first place with a blazing 2.03 average and a best single of 1.40. Dylan Chan finished in the runner-up position at 4.02, narrowly edging Ryan Hughes who secured third at 4.03. In Square-1, Hassan Khanani claimed victory among 39 solvers with an impressive 7.16 average and a 5.48 single, leading Zayn Khanani in second at 8.06 and Kyle Meade in third at 9.51.

Beneath the top podium finishes, the heart of this WCA competition belonged to personal milestones and breakthrough attempts across the roster. Matt Degala tackled all five events, securing a 12th place finish in 4x4x4 Cube, posting initial career marks of 17.69 in Square-1 and 8.15 in Clock, and slicing his Skewb personal best by 52.8 percent down to 2.97. Andy Simpson tackled four events, recording a first 4x4x4 Cube result of 1:49.40 while trimming his Square-1 best by 38.9 percent to 45.62 and his Skewb mark by 38 percent to 9.47. Ryan Jian completed a first 4x4x4 Cube solve at 1:32.59 alongside a 37.6 percent Skewb cut to 9.06 and a 14 percent drop in his 3x3x3 Cube best to 19.96. Raj Dholakia embraced five events, logging first-ever results of 43.67 in Clock, 1:02.38 in 4x4x4 Cube, and 1:43.44 in Square-1.

The drive for progress continued across the lineup with solvers expanding their repertoires. Will McCoy achieved a 9th place finish in 3x3x3 Cube, logged a first Clock effort of 13.55, improved his Skewb personal best by 33 percent to 4.40, and dropped his 4x4x4 Cube standard by 23 percent to 39.75. Nathaniel Guerrero delivered a first Clock mark of 21.06 while shaving 24.7 percent off his Square-1 best to reach 19.50. Lucas Zielfelder entered four events, posting an initial 28.65 Clock solve, a 24.7 percent Skewb improvement to 7.97, and a 20.5 percent leap in 4x4x4 Cube to 1:11.33. Martin Asterita Giraldo put up a first Clock solve of 28.27 and brought his Skewb mark down 30.6 percent to 10.69.

By the conclusion of the event, the podium distribution reflected 13 medals for United States competitors and 2 for France. Beyond the final 3x3 results, the shared experiences among participants defined Hudson Valley 2023 as an uplifting celebration of camaraderie and skill that will resonate well into the next season.