Mira Mesa Tops Rubik's Cube Competition

The Mira Mesa High School Cubing Club took the top $250 prize in its division at the recent 2012 Rubik’s Cube Competition, part of the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering Super STEM Saturday.

Challenger Middle School placed second in its division, winning $150, while Language Academy, Wilson Middle School and San Diego Early Middle College also competed.

The competition was held at California State University San Marcos and the Mira Mesa High team took the grand prize with an astonishing completion time of 03:01:15. Lead by head coach Zarek Pilakowski and assistant coach Don Boccio, team members are Steven Zakravsky, Joshua Li, Miguel Horrilleno, Anthony Clark, Dominic Tran, Seth Nakanishi, Danise Edra, Dani Ambrosio, Khai Nguyen, Kimberly Nguyen and Alex Lieu. The team had to "unmix" 25 Rubik's cubes, competing against other high school teams.

The competition, held March 17 at Cal State San Marcos, was part of the San Diego Science and Engineering Festival. The creators of Rubik's Cube have set up competitions around the country to encourage students to try the puzzle. For more information on the Mira Mesa effort, contact Sara Leonard, vice principal, at sleonard@sandi.net.

• See photos from competition»