On Oct. 29, Mississippi State University’s The Cube Corner hosted Cowbell Cubing 2022 in the Foster Ballroom of the Colvard Student Union.
Cowbell Cubing 2022 was a cubing competition in which cube-solvers of various ages and skill levels competed to see who could solve different puzzles at the fastest speed. Competitors were able to compete in as many events as they wished including: 3x3x3 cube, 2x2x2 cube, 4x4x4 cube, 7x7x7 cube, Megaminx and Square-1. 
Dylan Miller, a freshman communication major at LSU, won the main competition event, the 3x3x3 cube, with an average time of 5.78 seconds in the final round.
Miller’s average time for 3x3x3 cube was a personal best, and he is currently ranked 11th best in the world. His performance in the final round of 3x3x3 was met by much excitement from the audience and Miller himself.
Nicolás Sánchez, a master’s student at Georgia Tech University, took first place in 2x2x2 cube with an average time in the final round of 1.90 seconds.  Sánchez also took first in 4x4x4 cube with an average final round time of 32.99 seconds.
Jared Stinson, Alabama’s current top 3x3x3 cube solver, took first place in 7x7x7 cube with an average final round time of two minutes and 46 seconds.
Nicolas Naing, who currently holds the third best average Megaminx time in the world, won the Megaminx competition with a final round average of 31.54 seconds.
Roy Lee won first place in the Square-1 event with a final round average of 13.38 seconds.
David Heaton, a senior computer science major at MSU, is president of The Cube Corner.
Heaton said 43 cube-solvers competed in Cowbell Cubing 2022 — the largest number to compete in a cubing competition in Mississippi.
“It was, overall, a really great experience.” Heaton said, “I think everyone I’ve seen that posted about it, it was always positive. I’m just happy that everybody seemed to enjoy it.”
Towery McNeil, a senior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, said few cubing competitions like Cowbell Cubing 2022 have been held in Mississippi.
McNeil often travels to locations in Nashville, Tennessee or Huntsville, Alabama to compete. He said he enjoyed being able to attend a competition so close to home. 
Multiple competitors with high rankings at the state or world level were a part of Cowbell Cubing 2022. President Heaton said having such high-caliber competitors enhances the competition experience.
“It definitely adds a lot of excitement because, you know, you’re there to have fun, but also, to a certain level, you’re there to be impressed by other people,” said Heaton.
Cubing competitions give competitors the opportunity to socialize with one another and to build relationships. A competitor seating area was set up so that competitors could congregate and solve cubes together when they were not competing in a round.
McNeil said his favorite part of cubing competitions, outside of being able to compete, was meeting others with similar interests.
“When we all get here, it seems like a big community,” McNeil said.
Georgia native Sánchez said he enjoys how cubing competitions give him the opportunity to see friends. Sánchez said that he met fellow competitor Miller at a cubing competition back in 2016. Miller and Sánchez were talking to one another frequently during the event. The two have continued their friendship despite living multiple states apart.
Cowbell Cubing 2022 concluded with an award ceremony that recognized the top three competitors in each event. The top three in every event won gift cards to TheCubicle, an online cubing store. The top three in 3x3x3 cube and the winners of the other events also received cowbells.
Heaton said he would like to put on another contest like Cowbell Cubing 2022 at Mississippi State.
“At least one more time, I want to do it again at Mississippi State.” Heaton said, “You know, I’m a senior. I have one more semester left. So, next semester, I did want to try to see about organizing another one.”