Middleton Meetup Thursday 2023

Inside the Lakeview Park Indoor Shelter, the sharp clicking of plastic mechanisms filled the room as timers reset and puzzles were scrambled for official play. Competitors sat at the solving stations surrounded by stacks of cubes, awaiting the signal to start their inspection period. The intimate gathering brought a focused atmosphere where every decimal point counted. In a gathering featuring intense matchups across short formats, the pressure remained high from the opening scrambles to the final podium rounds.

The 2x2x2 Cube final delivered the closest margins of the day, where fractions of a second decided the championship podium. Brian Johnson claimed first place with an average of 1.39 seconds, holding off Simon Kellum who finished in second place with an average of 2.13 seconds. Kellum pushed the pace with a best single of 1.42 seconds, trailing Johnson who delivered a 1.11 single during the competition. Zachary Cribb secured third place with a 3.32 average, keeping the entire podium separated by less than two seconds across the two rounds.

Held on December 21, 2023, Middleton Meetup Thursday 2023 gathered 26 competitors in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA. The schedule featured 7 rounds across 3 different events, giving participants ample chances to test their speed on the tables. Enthusiasts of the classic Rubik's Cube alongside other disciplines found plenty of action throughout the day. The single-day WCA competition provided an intense testing ground for local speedcubing talent seeking top marks before the close of the calendar year.

In the Pyraminx event, Johnson again faced strong pressure from Kellum at the top of the standings. Johnson earned the victory with a 2.24 winning average, anchored by a blistering single solve of 1.20 seconds. Kellum took second place with a 3.02 average, maintaining a tight gap against the leader throughout the final. Mihir Narayan finished on the podium in third place with an average of 3.96 seconds, adding an international podium finish for India in an event contested by 19 competitors across two rounds.

The 3x3x3 Cube contest capped off the event schedule with three rounds of action for 26 entrants. Brian Johnson completed his clean sweep across all three disciplines, winning the main event with an average of 6.12 seconds and posting the best single of 5.73. Mihir Narayan claimed second place with a 7.53 average, while Zachary Cribb finished third with an average of 8.95. The official 3x3 results rounded out a dominant performance by Johnson across the entire tournament roster.

Beyond the championship battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual schedules. Benjamin Franklin delivered massive personal bests, cutting his 2x2x2 single to 2.54 seconds, which was 55.7 percent faster than his previous mark, while also lowering his Pyraminx single by 39.7 percent to 4.20 seconds. Beckett Duggan entered three events and dropped his 2x2x2 mark by 26 percent down to 2.28 seconds, securing a 7th place finish in 3x3x3. Tex James Totten improved his Pyraminx single to 9.19 seconds, representing a 19.2 percent improvement over his earlier standard.

Noah A. Wilson achieved a personal best single of 9.06 seconds in 3x3x3, an improvement of 17.7 percent, while finishing 5th in Pyraminx. Andrew Kuner took on two events, cutting his 3x3x3 single to 22.29 seconds for a 12.9 percent leap. Oshmith Roy achieved a 12.6 percent improvement in 2x2x2 with a 3.66 single, earning 9th place in 3x3x3. Ben Becker lowered his Pyraminx record to 7.04 seconds, an improvement of 9.7 percent. Meanwhile, Timothy Wishall competed in his first speed cubing event, making a debut 3x3x3 attempt of 9.93 seconds and finishing 6th overall in the category.

The tournament highlighted the depth of the local scene across multiple formats and disciplines. Podium totals concluded with 7 awards for representatives of the USA and 2 awards for India across the three events. As the final scrambles concluded at the Lakeview Park Indoor Shelter, Middleton Meetup Thursday 2023 stood as a testament to fast times, close finishes, and steady personal growth for every entrant on the floor.