New Hampshire Summer 2024

Forty-two competitors gathered inside the Seabrook Middle School Gymnasium on June 15, 2024, filling the hall with the relentless rhythm of turning plastic. New Hampshire Summer 2024 brought together speedcubing enthusiasts from across the region for a packed single-day schedule comprising seven official events and thirteen rounds of play. Set against the spacious backdrop of the school gymnasium in Seabrook, New Hampshire, USA, the gathering offered a full showcase of competitive solving across puzzles of every shape and scale.

The premier Rubik's Cube category featured forty-one solvers across three stages of competition, culminating in a dominant performance by Daniel Gutierrez. Gutierrez secured top honours in the main event with a winning average of 7.48 seconds, bolstered by the competition's best single of 6.67 seconds. Aidan McKenzie took second place on the podium with an 8.79 average, while Elijah Rain Phelps completed the top three with an 8.80 average, delivering razor-thin margins in the final 3x3 results of the day.

Beyond his victory in the standard event, Gutierrez also captured first place in 3x3x3 One-Handed, demonstrating immense dexterity with a single hand to post a winning average of 12.42 seconds and a single of 11.04 seconds. Phelps secured second place with an average of 14.09 seconds, while Charles Amarello earned the third podium step with a 14.20 mark. Gutierrez capped his busy day by claiming additional bronze finishes in Megaminx, 4x4x4 Cube, and 5x5x5 Cube, finishing among the top three across four separate disciplines.

The big cube categories belonged to Aidan McKenzie, who delivered back-to-back victories in both the 4x4x4 Cube and 5x5x5 Cube brackets. In the 4x4x4 Cube, McKenzie averaged 31.58 seconds to hold off Chandler Pike, who finished just behind with an average of 31.61 seconds in one of the tightest duels of the meet. McKenzie repeated his winning form on the 5x5x5 Cube, clocking a 58.84 average to edge Pike once again by two hundredths of a second, as Pike concluded with a 58.86 average.

The undercard featured impressive variety, from side events to specialized geometric puzzles. In the Megaminx division, Brendan Lee navigated the twelve-faced puzzle to victory with a winning average of 36.41 seconds, ahead of McKenzie with 38.76 seconds and Gutierrez with 47.24 seconds. Square-1 saw Phelps rise to the top of the podium with a decisive 7.78 average, well ahead of Tommy Szeliga at 11.18 seconds. Meanwhile, Skewb yielded a thrilling contest as Saisabari Ramesh posted a 3.94 winning average to take the crown over Lee and Ethan Zhuang.

Away from the top of the podium, New Hampshire Summer 2024 showcased remarkable personal breakthroughs across the wider field. Andrew Huang delivered massive progress in 3x3x3 One-Handed, setting a personal best of 40.75 seconds to mark a 54.2 percent improvement over his prior benchmark of 1:29.02, while also posting a 2:20.67 in 4x4x4 Cube. Samuel Pike tackled all seven events on the schedule, achieving a 47.4 percent improvement in Megaminx with a 1:32.79 personal best, a 31.71 in Square-1, and a 1:19.96 in 5x5x5 Cube. Ervin Brown achieved an eleventh-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 7.58 seconds, alongside a 37 percent cut to his 3x3x3 One-Handed best at 16.14 seconds and a first career attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:17.91.

Several competitors embraced brand new challenges on the competition floor, showing the depth of enthusiasm at this WCA competition. Ethan Benson logged a personal best of 1:11.01 in 4x4x4 Cube, 33.3 percent faster than before, while taking his first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 38.38 seconds. Elijah Bower chopped 34.3 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube benchmark with a 34.16 personal best. Tiago Jamison improved his 3x3x3 Cube best by 27.6 percent down to 14.09 seconds and logged an 8.70 in his first Skewb attempt. Fionn Burke tackled four events, recording first-time marks of 1:16.54 in 4x4x4 Cube, 13.43 in Skewb, and 2:12.34 in 5x5x5 Cube, while Scott Durkin completed his first ever speed cubing tournament by recording a 26.41 in 3x3x3 Cube.

With twenty-one podium positions claimed by competitors representing the United States, the single-day gathering in Seabrook concluded on a high note. The atmosphere throughout the gymnasium celebrated both elite precision and widespread individual milestones. As the 2024 season continues, the successful execution of New Hampshire Summer 2024 stands as a testament to the thriving local community and the enduring appeal of this cubing competition.