Tally Spring 2023

Sixty-six competitors gathered on April 8, 2023, turning The Challenger Learning Center into a focal point of intense speedcubing action. Staged across eleven rounds in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, the gathering brought together competitors ready to test their practice against the clock. Five official events provided ample opportunities for entrants to chase milestones, whether vying for trophies or aiming to cut critical fractions of a second from their personal records. The one-day cubing competition demonstrated how much progress can be packed into a single venue when the community comes together.

The 3x3x3 Cube contest stood as the centerpiece, drawing the full entry of sixty-six competitors across three rounds of play. When the final 3x3 results were tallied, Dylan Miller claimed the top step of the podium with a winning average of 6.05 seconds, supported by the round's best single solve of 5.84 seconds. Nicolás Sánchez took second place with a 6.84 average, while Heewon Seo secured third on a 7.97 mark. Solving the classic Rubik's Cube at this level requires immense concentration, and the final round showed just how fine the margins are at the very top of the table.

The 2x2x2 Cube event saw rapid turnarounds among fifty-eight entrants through two rounds. Tommy Cherry emerged victorious, locking down an average of 2.36 seconds and posting a rapid 1.58 single along the way. Nicolás Sánchez collected another podium finish by taking second place with an average of 2.54, closely followed by Carter Bitz in third at 2.62. The short solve times left almost no room for error, requiring competitors to plan their complete solutions within inspection time to maintain sub-three-second averages.

Big cubes brought extended tactical challenges, with Vishwa Sankar dominating both the 5x5x5 Cube and 6x6x6 Cube events. In 5x5x5, Sankar posted a winning average of 52.07 seconds and a best single of 50.24, outpacing Carter Bitz at 53.60 and Heewon Seo at 55.19. Sankar followed that performance in the 6x6x6 Cube by taking gold with an average of 1:33.77 and a single of 1:25.54. Bitz finished runner-up with 1:36.10, while Katie Hull earned third place with an average of 1:36.82, showing tremendous stamina over the grueling multi-layered solves.

The Megaminx twelve-sided puzzle featured thirty-three entrants over two rounds and delivered some of the sharpest execution of the entire weekend. Heewon Seo secured first place with an impressive winning average of 33.97 seconds and the event's top single of 28.41. Dylan Miller claimed second place with an average of 34.92, while Tommy Cherry rounded out the podium in third with a 48.85 average. Seo and Miller engaged in a particularly close duel at the top, trading quick face turns across the dodecahedron puzzle.

Beyond the podium battles, significant individual progression anchored the atmosphere at Tally Spring 2023. Vishal Choudary Pamulapati delivered extraordinary breakthroughs, cutting his 5x5x5 Cube personal best down to 1:49.94 from 3:42.09, an improvement of 50.5 percent, alongside an improved 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 15.33 seconds that was 42.6 percent faster than his prior 26.72. Mira Balzano achieved a massive 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 17.69, taking 44.9 percent off her prior 32.10 mark while also lowering her 2x2x2 Cube mark to 12.08. Elijah Daniel Anderson improved his 5x5x5 Cube best to 2:16.62, slicing 42 percent off his old 3:55.68 mark, and trimmed his 3x3x3 single to 10.85. Solomon Fraga took on four events, setting a 5x5x5 Cube personal best of 1:22.64 that was 43.5 percent faster than his former 2:26.18, earning an 11th-place finish in 2x2x2 Cube and logging his first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube with a time of 2:58.72.

New ventures and major drops in solve times continued across the leaderboard. Ben Kazee achieved a 36.4 percent improvement in 3x3x3 Cube with a new personal best of 10.89 compared to 17.13, made his first ever attempt at Megaminx with 3:24.02, and notched a 5.89 in 2x2x2 Cube. Avi Jain entered four events, finishing 12th in 2x2x2 Cube, logging a first ever attempt at Megaminx in 2:53.20, a first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube in 6:39.45, and taking 18.4 percent off his 3x3x3 best to hit 12.75. Several competitors tackled their first WCA competition entirely; Connor Easley took on five events, registering a 16th-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube alongside a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 3.99, a 5x5x5 Cube mark of 1:25.73, and a 6x6x6 Cube time of 2:39.72. Shawn Sun also made his debut across four events, finishing 15th in 3x3x3 Cube with a first attempt of 10.48 while clocking 3.66 on 2x2x2 Cube and 2:03.89 on 5x5x5 Cube.

The 2x2x2 Cube competition also served as a venue for significant personal marks across the roster, with Katie Hull logging an average of 3.34 seconds and a single of 3.02, while Jeremy Gassman recorded a 4.70 average and 4.24 single. Jack Fillenwarth posted a 5.22 average and 4.92 single, Samuel Anes turned in a 5.04 average and 4.01 single, and Trenton Cuzick registered a 5.72 average alongside a 3.52 single. Achal Joshi, Ben Kazee, Joshua Bell, Jordan Kyle Wiens, and Rusty Wagner all added completed official single and average entries to the database, underscoring the broad depth of participation throughout the tournament.

Every official podium position across the five disciplines went to competitors representing the United States, concluding a packed day of speed cubing excellence in the state capital. From established contenders securing multiple top-three finishes to newer entrants cutting tens of seconds off their previous bests, Tally Spring 2023 highlighted how dedication translates directly to the timer. As the 2023 speedcubing calendar moves onward, the performances registered at The Challenger Learning Center stand as clear markers of individual and collective advancement.