Minnesota Qualifier 2024

Three blindfolded victories defined a dominant individual weekend at the New Brighton Community Center as Cale Schoon secured a clean sweep of the memory-based events. The Minnesota Qualifier 2024 brought a dedicated field of 12 competitors together in New Brighton, Minnesota, USA on May 4 and May 5, staging nine total rounds across six specialized events. With a schedule packed with big cubes, fewest moves, and blindfolded challenges, the two-day cubing competition offered a rigorous test of endurance and spatial memory.

Schoon set the tone early in the weekend with a commanding performance in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, securing 18 out of 20 attempted cubes in a time of 51:18. Walker Welch took second place with 8 out of 9 cubes in 47:52, while Kaius Young completed a clean 3 out of 3 in 8:43 to take third. The triumph gave Schoon an early foundation at the WCA competition, demonstrating the sharp memorization and execution required to manage dozens of scrambled Rubik's Cube puzzles without visual confirmation.

The blindfolded dominance continued seamlessly through the big cube variants. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Schoon captured the top step of the podium with a single solve of 2:48.88. Andy Wong pushed the pace close behind to finish second in 2:50.33, while Welch earned third place in 7:03.73. Schoon then completed his trifecta in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, recording a winning mark of 7:39.34. Wong collected another runner-up finish in 11:48.00, and Welch rounded out the podium positions with a time of 20:51.00.

Beyond the blindfolded disciplines, the big cube events featured tight races at the top of the standings. Ethan Cho took first place in the 6x6x6 Cube, delivering a winning average of 1:32.72 alongside the best single of the weekend at 1:31.38 across two rounds. Nathan Phillips took second with an average of 1:38.80, and Tyler Johnson secured third with 1:40.35. The speedcubing action among the big cubes remained intense throughout both days of high-level solving.

The 7x7x7 Cube final saw Nathan Phillips reverse the standings, capturing the event title with a winning average of 2:20.95 and a top single of 2:13.81. Cho followed closely in second place with an average of 2:22.35, while Welch collected another podium finish by taking third in 2:41.95. The back-and-forth between the top big-cube solvers highlighted the competitive depth present at the Minnesota Qualifier 2024 despite the compact overall roster.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors turned in remarkable individual milestones that the final standings do not immediately reveal. Oliver Phillips delivered a major progression in the 6x6x6 Cube, taking 6th place while lowering his personal best average to 2:12.43 from a previous 2:32.19, an improvement of 13 percent across his three registered events. Lewis Isom entered a single event and made it count, finishing 4th in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a personal best single solve of 20 moves, shaving 9.1 percent off his prior mark of 22.

Other participants embraced heavy workloads across the weekend schedule. Shain Papalotl Longbehn took on five events, earning a 4th-place result in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a personal best of 2 out of 3 cubes in 20:26, while also locking down a 7x7x7 Cube personal best of 4:14.32. Nathan Rahn tackled four events and earned a best finish of 5th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind. Jagger Thomas Klecatsky competed in three events, recording a high finish of 6th place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves during an active speed cubing display.

The weekend concluded with 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where competitors sought the most efficient paths to solve the standard puzzle. Walker Welch claimed the victory with a winning average of 31.00 and a best single of 26 moves across two rounds of play. Andy Wong took second place with an average of 34.67, and Tyler Johnson secured third place with 37.67, completing an extensive set of alternate 3x3 results.

Every podium position across all six events went to United States competitors, wrapping up a focused and prolific weekend of competition. The Minnesota Qualifier 2024 showcased both versatility and mastery, capped by Schoon's triple-gold sweep and a wave of personal bests that will propel these solvers into the next competitive stretch of the 2024 season.