Iowa Winter Cooldown 2026

Inside the halls of the Gateway Hotel on February 28, 2026, the distinct plastic clack of turning layers filled the room as dozens of competitors settled at their timing stations. The single-day schedule gathered solvers from across the region to test their speed over multiple rounds and different puzzle disciplines. Tables were constantly filled with volunteers running scorecards and resetting timers while timers flashed green across every station. The atmosphere throughout the Ames, Iowa, USA venue stayed focused and energetic from the opening heats to the final rounds of the afternoon.

The 2026 meeting drew 65 competitors across five distinct events, generating 11 total rounds of action under World Cube Association regulations. For many in attendance, the primary objective of this cubing competition was simply cutting time off previous marks. Personal progress served as the defining theme throughout the day, with solvers across all skill brackets finding breakthrough solves. Between standard puzzles and specialty shapes, the program allowed participants to see their practice translate directly into official results at this WCA competition.

Ethan Cho delivered an exceptional campaign across multiple puzzle sizes, securing three separate titles before the day concluded. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube, Cho claimed top honours with a winning average of 8.42 seconds, bolstered by a round-best single of 7.02. Zachary Johnson followed closely to take the runner-up position on a 9.33 average, while Miles Greco rounded out the podium steps with an average of 9.35. The 3x3 results demonstrated intense consistency at the front of a deep 65-competitor field through all three rounds.

Cho also established total control in the big cube categories, dominating the 5x5x5 Cube and the 7x7x7 Cube brackets. On the five-layered puzzle, Cho recorded a winning average of 48.98 seconds and a single of 47.16, finishing ahead of Zachary Johnson with 55.37 and Miles Greco with 1:04.15 across two rounds. Moving up to the seven-layered monster, Cho posted a winning average of 2:00.13 alongside the best single of 1:53.56. Zachary Johnson secured second place on a 2:50.00 average, with Chaeli Baker capturing third place at 2:51.88.

Away from the top steps, several competitors showed remarkable growth and took on bold challenges. Winston Johnson, entering four events, achieved a personal best of 5.02 seconds in Skewb, which improved upon his previous best of 13.14 by 61.8 percent, while also taking his first ever attempts at Square-1 with 1:02.50 and 5x5x5 Cube with 1:56.66. Ben Fischer tackled five events, earning a 7th place finish in 5x5x5 Cube while logging his first official attempts at 7x7x7 Cube with 3:39.56 and 5x5x5 Cube with 1:04.92, alongside a Square-1 personal best of 33.48 that was 12.2 percent faster than his previous mark. Liam Hage competed in two events, posting his first Skewb attempt at 7.73 seconds and dropping his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 14.73, which was 33 percent faster than before. George Robert Brown improved his Skewb personal best to 9.08 seconds, trimming his prior mark of 21.20 by 57.2 percent.

The progress continued across the roster with major time drops and event debuts. Peyton Lehman completed five events, shaving his 7x7x7 Cube personal best down to 5:14.36 from 9:09.27 for a 42.8 percent improvement, while also lowering his Skewb mark by 32.8 percent to 5.58 seconds. Kaleb Hake took on five events and secured 11th place in Skewb, posting a personal best of 4.86 seconds that improved by 18.2 percent, alongside debut marks of 8:02.38 in 7x7x7 Cube and 1:54.60 in 5x5x5 Cube. Bennett Luth entered four events, setting a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 20.96 seconds, which was 16.5 percent faster, and making his first Square-1 attempt in 54.12 seconds. Caleb Schunk made his first WCA competition appearance, taking on two events and finishing 8th in 3x3x3 Cube with a time of 8.76 seconds.

Side events offered equally brisk competition across the Gateway Hotel tables. The Square-1 final went to Tyler Youlden, whose winning average of 10.91 seconds was backed by the event's top single of 8.18 across 30 competitors. Marcus Zook took second place with a 12.02 average, and Max McGill claimed third place at 14.23. The specialty puzzle required intricate layer alignment, making Youlden's sub-eleven performance a standout display during the second round of eliminations.

Skewb wrapped up with an exciting final round among 39 participants, where Marcus Zook turned in a winning average of 3.98 seconds and the fastest single solve of 2.84. Tyler Youlden took the second position on a 4.23 average, edging out Maxim Duncan, who captured third place with an average of 4.32. The event provided a display of quick mechanical turning that kept the running order tight right until the final solve was registered.

United States competitors swept all 15 podium positions across the five disciplines, demonstrating exceptional depth across traditional Rubik's Cube solving and large mechanical puzzles. Iowa Winter Cooldown 2026 proved to be an outstanding showcase of regional speedcubing talent, where established front-runners set the pace while emerging solvers made massive leaps forward. As the equipment was packed away, competitors left Ames with substantial personal milestones recorded, ready to carry their momentum into the next speed cubing season.