Alumni Compete, Win at Crossword Tournament

Three Wesleyan alumni took trophies at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament hosted by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz in February. A total of 684 competitors from all over the world vied for victory in several categories. Along with the Wesleyan award-winners, three additional alums participated in the tournament.

Brian Cimmet ’95 placed first in Division E, and 278th overall. Brian is also half of a team writing the blog Brian and Ryan do Crosswords. Brian also participated in a panel on blogging crosswords.

Jesse Lansner ’96 placed second in the Rookies category (first time competitors), 90th overall, 4th in Division C, and 18th for New York City.

Erhard Konerding MALS ’82 placed third in Rookies, 94th overall, 6th in Division C, 5th in Connecticut, and 13th among competitors aged 60 to 69 years of age.

Donald Spencer ’77 ranked 138th overall, and 10th in Connecticut.

Ed Stein ’60 was 521st overall. He has produced a “mockumentary” about the tournament, entitled Wordploy, and has given multiple WeSeminars on how to do the New York Times crossword puzzles.

Complete results available here.