The First Miami OH 2024

Inside McGuffey Hall in Oxford, Ohio, USA, the rhythmic clack of plastic on tables set the tempo for an intense one-day contest. The single-day speedcubing gathering on November 17, 2024 brought sixteen competitors together under a schedule that tested both sprint pacing and stamina. Each puzzle on the roster featured a two-round format, forcing entrants to navigate initial stages before earning a spot in the five-person and six-person finals.

The two-round cut structure proved to be the ultimate test across all five disciplines at The First Miami OH 2024. With ten total rounds packed into the day, advancing required sharp opening rounds and the composure to repeat that execution in the deciding sets. Competitors could not afford careless mistakes in the opening rounds, as only the top tier from the initial fourteen-person heats secured berths in the afternoon medal shootouts.

Luke Garrett turned that rigorous format into a masterclass, securing victories in four of the five events. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, Garrett posted an opening round average of 9.96 seconds to lead the field before taking the title with a winning average of 9.96 seconds and a best single of 9.23 seconds. Luke Van Laningham secured second place with a 14.73 average, while Evan Brown claimed third on a 16.17 mark.

Garrett also showed total control across the larger hardware and alternative puzzles. In the 5x5x5 Cube, he logged a 48.93 winning average alongside a best single of 46.77 to top Carson Clark at 1:08.96 and Garrett Hadaway at 1:09.69. Turning to Skewb, Garrett clinched another gold with a 3.50 winning average and a 2.61 best single, holding off Van Laningham at 3.87 and Dominic Brandi at 4.36 in the final round.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline challenged eight solvers through two distinct stages, where memory and precision under a blindfold eliminated any room for hesitation. Garrett earned the victory with a top single solve of 32.61 seconds, while Van Laningham finished in second place at 57.79 seconds and Brown took the third spot on the podium with a 57.86 single time.

Away from the top step of the podium, several competitors made massive personal strides through the weekend bracket. Joey Reindl tackled four events and delivered a standout 16.9 percent improvement in the 5x5x5 Cube with a new personal best of 2:06.95, down from 2:32.74, while also logging a first career official Skewb attempt of 18.84 seconds. Ryan Goudy entered one event and notched a first career Skewb mark of 15.32 seconds. Spencer Poling made the most of his single event entry by dropping his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 10.2 percent to 17.29 seconds on his way to an eighth-place finish.

Lucas Hatfield stepped up across three events and earned a fifth-place finish in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded contest. Zach Baruch completed a busy slate across five events, securing fourth place in the blindfolded event and setting a 5x5x5 Cube personal best of 1:44.47. Emery McFeeter made major gains by slicing 25 percent off his Pyraminx personal best to post a 4.10 single while placing eighth, in addition to trimming his 5x5x5 Cube mark by 3.6 percent to 1:43.12. Cyrus Gearhart took on two events to earn fifth place in Pyraminx, and Elliott Perkins tackled four events to claim fourth in that same Pyraminx final.

The lone event to escape Garrett during the competition was Pyraminx, where Luke Van Laningham produced a sub-two winning average of 1.99 seconds alongside a tournament-best single of 1.74 seconds. Harsha Paladugu captured second place with an average of 2.38 seconds, edging Carson Clark who finished third with a 2.42 average across the final five solves.

All fifteen podium spots across the five events were claimed by United States competitors, wrapping up a memorable 2024 speed cubing meeting in Ohio. For local Rubik's Cube enthusiasts following every cubing competition, the technical depths of this WCA competition showed that multi-round consistency remains the hallmark of elite solving. The final 3x3 results and bracket battles from Oxford provide plenty of momentum as the circuit prepares for its next season.