Midwest Area Delegates
What is a delegate?
Delegates are the officials of the WCA, and they are responsible for ensuring the WCA Regulations are followed during the competition. They also handle incidents and are responsible for scrambles and results. If you ever have any doubts or questions, they should be your first choice for asking.
Illinois
Brandon Reichman
Brandon has been cubing since 2007 and first attended a competition in 2015. In 2022 he joined the WCA Results Team, and became a delegate in 2024. His favorite event is 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, which is the most thrilling event according to Brandon. Brandon has lived in the Chicago area his whole life and is excited to bring more frequent competitions to the area.
Illinois
Ilkyoo Choi (최일규)
Ilkyoo has been cubing since 2004 and has attended over 100 WCA competitions. He also had 8 national records and podiumed 14 times. Ilkyoo organized his first competition in 2008 and delegated his first competition in 2011. He also served on the WCA Board from 2013 to 2017. Ilkyoo recently delegated and organized Rubik's WCA World Championship 2023, which is still the largest competition as of Feb. 1, 2024. He is proud to be part of the community and is happy to return to the midwest where he went to school.
Illinois
Kit Clement
Kit has been cubing since 2008 and delegating since 2013. Kit served as the WCA Senior Delegate for US and Canada from 2017 to 2021 as well. He started delegating competitions in Michigan, then Oregon, and recently moved back to the Midwest in Illinois. His favorite event is 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where he has won national championship podiums in 2015 and 2018. Outside of cubing, Kit enjoys disc golfing like many of the other delegates listed here, and is involved in statistics education as an instructor and researcher.
Illinois
Lauren Clement
Lauren grew up in Michigan, moved to Portland, OR after college, and returned back to the Midwest (Illinois) in 2022. She started cubing in 2013 when she met Delegate Kit Clement at the University of Michigan and asked him about his WCA profile. Her first competition was at Hillsdale College where she not only was excited to compete but also began volunteering at the competition as a runner and judge. Kit and Lauren attended many competitions together and eventually planned a Rubik's Cube themed wedding to celebrate their love of each other and cubing. Lauren continued to help out at every competition she attended, including National and World Championships. Outside of competitions, Lauren joined the WCA Communication Team in 2017 and was the leader of the team from 2018 to 2022. She was appointed to be a Delegate in 2019 and continues to enjoy representing the cubing community any way she can!
Kansas
Dan Smith
Dan grew up in Ohio and got his first Rubik's Cube in 1981 while in middle school. He eventually averaged 75 seconds after reading "The Simple Solution to the Rubik's Cube". For the next 35+ years he solved it casually with terrible finger tricks and look ahead. In 1988, however, he wrote a computer program that could scramble and solve the 3x3x3 Cube then also wrote a program to model the 5x5x5 cube which didn't even exist then -- he was able to solve that 5x5x5 cube virtually with his own slow method. In 2018, in a mid-life crisis, he wondered if he could break his old high school record of 54 seconds. After learning Jeffrey Varasano's Corners First method then CFOP, Dan signed up for a local competition he saw online. He asked the delegate at the competition what it would take for him to be a delegate, then was given that chance in 2022 after competitions came back after COVID. Dan's passion in cubing is talking to young people and seeing the same enthusiasm in their eyes for solving the cube as he had as a kid!
Kentucky
Evan Brown
Evan initially started cubing in high school in 2013. After a long break in college, he returned to competitions in 2022, became a delegate in 2023, and joined the MCA board in 2024. His favorite event is FMC. He is always happy to be asked if you are looking for a delegate in Kentucky/Ohio/Indiana! Outside of cubing, Evan works as a software engineer and enjoys exploring national parks.
Kentucky
Garrett Hadaway
Garrett started cubing in 2014 and started competing infrequently in 2015. He took a hiatus from cubing from 2019-2022 and is back and competing almost every weekend now! Garrett is excited to become an even bigger part of this community as a delegate, and looks forward to growing in the delegate role along with the community. His day job is as an event coordinator, so he is able to use the skills he uses every day in his job as a way to provide more opportunities to cubers! In his free time Garrett enjoys running, playing video games, cubing (obviously) and hanging out with his cats!
Kentucky
Alison Meador
Alison started cubing in 2015, first competed in 2017, and was promoted to Delegate in 2022. Her hobbies include listening to music, reading, playing video games, and of course, cubing.
Kentucky
Javier Gonzalez-Napoleoni
This is Javier Gonzalez-Napoleoni but most people call him "Javi." He has been speed cubing since 2011 and delegating since 2022. He is a mechanical engineer based out of the Louisville, KY area. Feel free to give him a holler if you need anything!
Minnesota
Lisa Kucala
Lisa has been involved in the cubing community in Minnesota since her son Carter (Wisconsin delegate) started competing in 2015. After attending many competitions with Carter, and organizing or helping staff at most of them, Lisa finally learned to solve the cube in 2017, and now has competed in over 50 competitions herself. She is one of the founding members of the Midwest Cubing Association and has organized several competitions in Minnesota. Lisa is passionate about supporting and growing the community in Minnesota and the surrounding areas of the midwest region. She is semi-retired and enjoying spending some of her spare time giving back to the community that has been such a large part of her family for many years. Outside of working part-time and supporting the local cubing community, Lisa enjoys golf and traveling , and likes to spend as much of the cold Minnesota winter months as possible in warm places!
Minnesota
Shain Longbehn
Shain has been a very casual solver since 2010, but began speedcubing September 2019. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he attended as many competitions as he could. Shain organized his first competition in August 2022 and dove headfirst into supporting the community in any way he could. He is a member of the WCA's Disciplinary Committee, and is thrilled to now be a part of the Midwest delegate team. His favorite events are Square-1, 3x3, and 6x6. Outside of cubing, Shain repairs medical equipment, is an actor, is a sound/projections designer for the stage, and is a year-round hockey goalie.
Minnesota
Walker Welch
Walker grew up in Minnesota and started cubing casually in 2008 after being intrigued by seeing a Rubik's Cube at a local store. A few years later, Youtube videos of World Records and Tutorials peaked his interest and then decided to join his first competition in Fall of 2011. Over the years, Walker learned how welcoming and great the Cubing Community is and kept becoming more and more involved from Organizing to becoming a WCA Delegate in 2016. Walker also has served for the WCA Ethics Committee as a Leader and is currently a Board of Director for CubingUSA. Walker's favorite WCA events are 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, 7x7, and Clock with his proudest accomplishment being his 24.00 Fewest Moves World Record Average. Outside of Cubing, Walker works as a UPS Package Supervisor and in his free time enjoys getting outside and playing Disc Golf whenever he can!
Missouri
Katelyn Hinkley
Katelyn has been speed solving since 2012 and started competing in 2016. She hails from Springfield, Mo and works as a videographer & photographer at a music store. She hopes to also provide support for the North Arkansas area as well.
Nebraska
Coleton Pleiss
Coleton has been cubing since he was about 9 years old, attending his first competition in 2017, and becoming a delegate in 2023. His favorite event is 3x3 Blindfolded. Outside of cubing, Coleton enjoys playing rhythm and platformer games. He also bowls competitively in college. Coleton currently attends the University of South Florida in Tampa, so most of his time in the Midwest is going to be in the Summer and Winter.
Nebraska
Francisco Garcia
Francisco (aka Cisco) has been cubing since 2010 and first attended a competition in 2013 while on a trip in Mexico. Cisco has always enjoyed 2x2-4x4, but has recently taken an interest in megaminx, square-1, and 3x3 blind. Cisco lives in Omaha where he works as a bridge engineer. Cisco has many hobbies and interests such as golfing, playing and watching soccer, traveling, Nebraska Cornhusker football, and volunteering.
Ohio
Braden Richards
Braden is a speedcuber originally from Findlay Ohio, where he co-organized four competitions in 2018 and 2019. Before cubing, Braden spent his time as a professional magician where he was initially introduced to Rubik’s Cube magic. Braden was the president of The Rubik's Cube Club at Ohio State from 2020-2024 and has helped organize multiple competitions on campus including CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2023. He is currently a member of the WCA Archive Team, where he researches WCA and speedcubing history including world records and historic competitions. In his spare time, Braden likes to play Guitar Hero and solve unofficial puzzles like Mirror Blocks.
Ohio
Mason Langenderfer
Mason has been speedcubing competitively since 2013 and organized his first competition in 2014. Beginning in 2023, Mason has acted as the region lead for the Great Lakes region. He specializes in blindsolving events and loves traveling for competitions. He is a data analyst by trade, and in his free time enjoys exercising, cooking, and researching new travel destinations.
Ohio
Zach Garber
Zach has been cubing since 2009 and attended his first official competition in 2014. Since then he has competed in over 100 competitions in more than 20 states. Zach became a delegate in early 2017 and has helped delegate more than 50 competitions. Zach does the IT Work for a local school district in Ohio.
South Dakota
Ben Tibbetts
Ben has been cubing since 2013 and attended his first competition in 2017, where he fell in love with staffing competitions and helping them run well. When not studying to become an engineer, Ben enjoys reading, playing video games with friends, and (of course) cubing.
South Dakota
Carter Bitz
Carter is a cuber from South Dakota currently attending college in Florida! His main event has been 4x4 almost since he started cubing in 2016. Please reach out to Carter if you want to organize a competition in the South Dakota area during winter break or in the summer!
South Dakota
Ryan Schock
Ryan first started cubing in 2015, and attended his first competition in 2018. Originally from the Sioux Falls area, he is currently pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering in Rapid City. Ryan earned promotion to trainee delegate in Spring 2024 and is excited to help grow the community in South Dakota. Ryan’s three favorite events are 3x3, 4x4, and 3BLD. His other hobbies include disc golfing and playing soccer.
Wisconsin
Carter Kucala
Carter has been attending WCA competitions in 2015, and became a delegate in 2022. He is an impressive all-around cuber and also broke the Skewb world record average in December of 2021. In addition to being a delegate, Carter also works as a member of both the WCA Regulations Committee and WCA Disciplinary Committee. Although his primary home is in Minnesota, he is currently attending college at UW Madison. Carter is looking forward to helping grow the Midwest Cubing Community by bringing competitions to more areas that have not had them before.
Wisconsin
Josh Feran
Josh is from Madison and started cubing in 2009. He was the U.S. National Champion in Clock two years in a row (2016 and 2017). He also holds the current World Record for the most competitions and most completed solves in 1 year! Josh has delegated over 40 competitions.
Wisconsin
Simon Kellum
Simon started attending competitions in 2016. Since then he has attended over 100, getting a world record in Pyraminx in the process. In 2022 he joined the WCA Results Team, and became a delegate in 2023. Outside of cubing he is a mathematics student at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Wisconsin
Zeke Mackay
Zeke is from the Milwaukee area and has been cubing since 2014. He has been attending WCA competitions since 2015 and has been regularly organizing competitions in Wisconsin since lockdown ended. He is currently a member of the WCA Competition Announcement Team and Advisory Council. He is primarily an all-rounder but his favorite event is Clock. Zeke is excited to help grow the Midwest cubing community in the coming years!