Mountaineer Madness 2023

The competition floor at Western Colorado University was alive with intense concentration as solvers stepped up to the timing mats. Tables stood arranged across the hall, timers flashed green, and judges monitored every rotation. Mountaineer Madness 2023 took place on September 23, 2023 in Gunnison, Colorado, USA, drawing 20 competitors for a dense schedule of 9 events and 17 rounds. Before the full array of puzzles unfolded, the technical complexity of solving with a single hand drew the focus of the room.

The 3x3x3 One-Handed event requires a distinct balance of ergonomics and fingertrick precision, forcing competitors to generate explosive turning speed without the stability of a second hand. Over two rounds among 13 competitors, Raymos Castillo mastered the table grips and awkward angle executions to capture first place with a winning average of 17.29 seconds and a best single of 15.79. Miles Walcott chased closely to take second place with an average of 17.96, while Stone Amsbaugh secured third on the podium averaging 18.58 seconds.

Castillo translated that precise control across the traditional Rubik's Cube categories throughout the weekend. In the main 3x3x3 Cube event, which brought 20 competitors through three rounds of speedcubing, Castillo topped the podium with a winning average of 8.81 seconds and a best single of 7.17. Jack Roe claimed the second spot on the podium with an average of 10.56, while Walcott followed in third place averaging 10.67. The official 3x3 results underlined Castillo's dominance across both two-handed and single-handed solving styles.

The multi-puzzle schedule pushed solvers into large cubes and alternate mechanisms. Jack Roe scored a major victory in the 4x4x4 Cube, winning the final with an average of 34.22 seconds and the fastest single of 32.24 ahead of Castillo's 35.10 and Walcott's 37.25. Castillo struck back in the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:48.99 and a single of 1:46.52, leading Roe's 1:57.09 and Elizabeth Cutting's 2:30.13. Walcott also secured an outright title in Square-1, winning the event with an average of 15.76 seconds over Amsbaugh's 17.15 and Carter Marshall's 17.43.

Beyond the podium battles, the floor saw remarkable milestones from competitors logging major breakthroughs. Dimitri Alvey tackled seven events and delivered a massive Pyraminx personal best of 8.30 seconds, improving by 51.4 percent over an earlier mark of 17.08, while also taking on first career attempts in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:29.03 single and Clock at 13.90 to finish seventh. Andrew Kobilan delivered dramatic drops across six events, cutting 34 percent in 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:11.70 personal best, dropping 31.6 percent on Skewb down to 8.92, and shaving his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 14.7 percent to 3.67. Aaron Aguayo improved his 2x2x2 Cube standard by 24.2 percent to 17.25 seconds and trimmed Skewb to 35.00 across five events. Dylan Box logged his first official attempts in three distinct formats, putting up a 35.98 single in Clock for a tenth-place finish, a 14.64 in Skewb, and a 12.71 in Pyraminx.

Several competitors stepped up for their first WCA competition experience and immediately expanded their repertoires. Silas White entered five events, recording an opening 4.86 single in 2x2x2 Cube, a 53.22 single in 3x3x3 One-Handed, a 1:39.53 single in 4x4x4 Cube, and placed ninth in Pyraminx. Atley Tillger also completed five events in their debut, registering a 39.01 in 3x3x3 Cube, a 13.52 in 2x2x2 Cube, a 1:38.75 in 3x3x3 One-Handed, and placed eighth in Pyraminx. Ryan Wade launched into three events with a 6.54 single in 2x2x2 Cube, a 17.01 in Skewb, and a 30.34 in 3x3x3 Cube, while Ryder Poppe debuted with a 15.92 single in 2x2x2 Cube and a 1:40.31 single in 3x3x3 Cube.

The fast-paced short puzzles brought additional drama to the Gunnison venue. Alex Aguayo claimed victory in the 2x2x2 Cube, averaging 2.42 seconds in the final round ahead of Walcott's 2.79 and Castillo's 3.19. In Clock, Castillo prevailed with a 6.15 winning average, holding off Aguayo's 7.48 and Walcott's 7.79. Castillo added another title in Skewb with a 4.52 average against Roe's 6.08 and Amsbaugh's 7.17, while also winning Pyraminx with a 5.12 average.

As the single-day cubing competition concluded, the total collection of 27 podium places represented a wide sweep across nine different events. Mountaineer Madness 2023 offered a complete showcase of speed cubing versatility in 2023, where one-handed execution, big-cube stamina, and debut milestones defined the action in Gunnison before the community heads into the next season of events.