Photo by Kassidy Duncan

Joshua Trentham, 12, solves a Rubik’s cube.

His hands move like clockwork, cracking away effortlessly at the pattern he’s spent years perfecting. His face is blank but his mind is concentrating on his next move. He holds the cube up as the timer reads 20 seconds, before mixing up the blocks and trying again for a better time.

Sophomore Joshua Trentham has been solving Rubik’s cubes puzzles for years and loves the challenge it brings trying to best his times.

“I had [a Rubik’s cube] and wanted to learn to solve it,” Trentham said. “Once I learned how to do that, I wanted to get faster.”

Over the course of two years, learning and perfecting the complicated pattern of twist here, twist there and repeat, Trentham can solve a Rubik’s cube in just 20 seconds.

“There was a lot of trial and error,” Trentham said. “I gave up because I was little and couldn’t wrap my mind around the whole thing.”

He recalled the many online videos and hours spent practicing to hone his skill. Meticulously, Trentham observed others and experimented on his own until he was confident in his puzzle solving prowess.

“I kept giving up until I finally got it,” Trentham said.

Through his perseverance and dedication to his craft, Trentham cracked the code of the 3×3. When he’s not busy playing the French horn in the Legacy Bronco Band or playing tennis with his father, he spends his free time challenging himself further with larger cubes and other geometric puzzles.

“I like solving Rubik’s cubes – they give me something to do and I have fun challenging myself to do better.”