Olympia Fall 2024

The gymnasium at Olympia High School was filled with the rhythmic click and snap of turning plastic on November 9, 2024, as competitors and judges gathered across solving stations. Timing mats were inspected, display monitors flickered to life, and scorecards circulated under bright overhead lighting. Across 10 rounds of high-intensity action in Olympia, Washington, USA, the gathering brought together a bustling roster of 77 puzzle enthusiasts eager to showcase their preparation in the Pacific Northwest speedcubing community.

United States solvers established complete control over the podium positions throughout the single-day cubing competition, capturing 14 of the 15 available top-three places. Across five different disciplines, American competitors regularly occupied top spots, with multi-event contenders leading the charge. The depth of talent across the local contingent meant that almost every final saw a near-total lock on medals, turning the event into a showcase of domestic speed cubing consistency and skill across diverse formats.

The marquee 3x3x3 Cube event drew a large field of 76 competitors across three rounds, testing both raw turn speed and nerves. Sameer Aggarwal secured the victory with a 7.39 winning average in the final round, highlighted by a sharp 5.99 single. Aggarwal finished ahead of fellow American podium finishers Ron G. Arama, who claimed second place with a 7.92 average, and Greyson James, who took third with an 8.28 mark. The 3x3 results capped a fiercely contested discipline featuring traditional Rubik's Cube mastery.

Ron G. Arama put together a remarkable multi-podium performance during Olympia Fall 2024, walking away with two championship titles. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Arama earned first place with a blistering 1.68 average and a best single of 1.46 across two rounds featuring 70 competitors. Arama added a second victory in Clock, solving his way to the top among 39 competitors with a winning average of 4.61 and a single of 3.31, while also picking up third place in Skewb with a 3.74 average.

Ash Black delivered an exceptional showing in Skewb, topping a field of 43 competitors across two rounds with a 1.90 winning average and a 1.56 single. Eli Kirk earned second place on the Skewb podium with a 3.03 average. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, which requires precise memorisation before donning a blindfold to solve without sight, Sameer Aggarwal took his second gold of the meet with a winning single of 56.68. Viet Nguyen took second place in 1:04.30, and Anishk Arora placed third in 2:38.57 among 13 competitors.

Beyond the finals, significant milestones emerged from the second round of 2x2x2 Cube. India's Ian Cantius Fredric earned the sole non-US podium finish of the day by taking third place with a 2.17 average, but made his biggest mark earlier by logging a national record average of 1.38 alongside a 1.04 single. In that same fast-paced 2x2x2 event, Greyson James recorded an average of 1.50 with a 1.20 single, while Aggarwal delivered a 1.85 average with a 1.37 single.

Away from the championship tables, individual breakthroughs shaped the atmosphere of the WCA competition. Yunhan Xiao entered four events and made significant strides, recording an 8.78 in their first ever attempt at Skewb, an 11.29 in their first ever attempt at Clock, and setting a 2x2x2 personal best of 3.92, which was 66.7% faster than their previous mark. Stella DePiero improved personal records across three events, lowering their Skewb best by 50.9% to 5.31, their 3x3x3 best by 23.5% to 20.94, and their 2x2x2 best by 12.2% to 5.04. Aarav Dinesh Kumar slashed their 2x2x2 personal best by 49.4% down to 2.38, while Jamar Leonard dropped their 2x2x2 personal best by 41.4% to 2.46.

Other competitors took on fresh challenges and marked steep learning curves across the day. Charlie Rogers entered four disciplines, achieving an 8.86 personal best in Clock that was 44.7% faster than before, alongside a 20% improvement in 3x3x3 to 13.04 and a 27th-place finish in 2x2x2. Mauricio Antonio Escobar III secured a 10th-place finish in Skewb while improving their personal best to 3.33, an improvement of 38.1%, and recorded a 14.86 in Clock. Matthew Soules dropped their Clock best by 37.6% to 12.98 and their 3x3x3 best by 30.4% to 21.68. Reajnithdra Thesis Ly tackled Clock for the first time with a 6.76 attempt and earned 10th place in 3x3x3.

The single-day meet wrapped up after ten total rounds across all five categories, confirming Olympia Fall 2024 as a benchmark gathering for regional solvers in 2024. With double victories from Aggarwal and Arama, an international record on the board, and dozens of personal milestones reached across the venue, the tournament delivered a comprehensive display of solving versatility before competitors packed their cubes and looked ahead to the next calendar stop.