Westerns Warmup Riverside A 2026

Inside UC Riverside Pentland Hills, tables were cleared and timers stood ready under the bright campus lighting as solvers settled into their stations. The atmosphere was focused and energetic from the opening minutes, with competitors warming up their fingers on wildly different hardware across the floor. This single-day gathering on May 16, 2026, brought together 34 competitors in Riverside, California, USA, all eager to test their skills against official clocks in a lively speedcubing environment.

What defined Westerns Warmup Riverside A 2026 was the striking range of challenges presented across the schedule. Across 6 rounds and 3 distinct disciplines, participants shifted gears between the classic Rubik's Cube, the corner-turning geometry of Skewb, and the grueling endurance demanded by the massive 6x6x6 Cube. Moving from the rapid, lightweight turns of smaller puzzles to the layered mechanical complexity of larger NxN hardware created a dynamic test of overall dexterity and mental versatility.

In the premiere 3x3x3 Cube event, three tense rounds whittled the 34-person field down to the fastest hands in the room. Spursh Deshpande (स्पर्श देशपांडे) captured top honors on the podium, locking in a winning average of 7.65 seconds alongside the fastest single solve of the entire discipline at 6.83 seconds. Sree Dacharla representing India pushed the pace with a 7.78 average to take second place, while Emil Lazaryev rounded out the podium in third with an average of 8.71 seconds in the final 3x3 results.

Kate Grahame emerged as the standout multi-event powerhouse of the weekend, sweeping the titles in the other two disciplines on the slate. In the 18-competitor 6x6x6 Cube contest, Grahame delivered a commanding victory with a 1:22.49 winning average and a round-best single of 1:17.67. Gavin Torreflores secured the second step with a 1:39.83 average, followed by Shane Grogan in third place at 1:50.19.

Grahame doubled her gold medal tally in the Skewb event, navigating two rounds against 22 competitors to finish on top with a winning average of 4.64 seconds and a single of 3.63 seconds. August Barnard earned second place with a solid 4.93 average, while Emil Lazaryev picked up another podium finish by taking third place with a 5.09 average. The combined podium results across all three events saw United States competitors claim eight top-three spots and India secure one.

Behind the top podium spots at Westerns Warmup Riverside A 2026, many competitors achieved personal milestones and tackled new events. Riel Gonzalez entered 3 events, locking down an 11th place finish in Skewb with a personal best single of 2.53 seconds, which was 73 percent faster than their previous mark of 9.36, while also recording a first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube of 6:40.67. Jonathan True entered 1 event and delivered a huge 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 16.67 seconds, improving by 35.8 percent from 25.97. Henry Frankie took on 3 events, clocking a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 21.21 seconds, a 32.5 percent improvement from 31.41, alongside a first Skewb attempt of 13.27 and a first 6x6x6 Cube attempt of 7:02.83. Dan Nguyen entered 2 events and took 12th in 6x6x6 Cube with a personal best of 4:33.19, shaving 29.2 percent off their previous 6:26.11 best.

The breakthroughs continued across the roster throughout the afternoon. Oliver Frankie tackled 2 events and posted a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 40.81 seconds, which was 23.1 percent faster than their old 53.08 mark, along with a first Skewb attempt of 31.88. Leede Fang entered 2 events, logging a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 16.63 seconds, a 17.9 percent drop from 20.26, and a first Skewb mark of 16.70. Caleb Huynh took on 2 events, setting a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 32.71 seconds to best their previous 36.29 by 9.9 percent alongside a first Skewb attempt of 16.25. Anthony Montes contested 3 events, earning a 4th place finish in Skewb with a personal best of 3.86 seconds that trimmed 3.5 percent off 4.00, while logging a first 6x6x6 Cube attempt of 3:55.37.

For newcomers Carter Wong and Peter Sternberg, this marked their very first WCA competition. Wong posted a debut 3x3x3 Cube single of 22.73 seconds, while Sternberg logged a first official attempt of 34.76 seconds in the same event. Andre Leiva also had a productive day across 3 events, placing 13th in Skewb while logging first attempts of 8.94 in Skewb and 6:14.36 in 6x6x6 Cube, while Paul McNaughton finished 13th in 6x6x6 Cube after logging initial marks of 17.41 in Skewb and 5:54.56 in 6x6x6 Cube.

The balanced lineup made Westerns Warmup Riverside A 2026 a thorough showcase of modern speed cubing skill, blending high-speed tactical turns with big-cube stamina. Every competitor walked away with valuable stage experience as the regional season moved forward. By the time the final timers were packed away, the cubing competition in Riverside demonstrated that mastering different puzzle mechanisms remains one of the most rewarding challenges in the sport.