Left to right Quentin Valdez (sophomore), Greg Clark (senior), and Xavier Black Bonnet (senior) formed the 3-person team called The Goons representing Rawlins High School in the MAGIC Capture the Flag cybersecurity puzzle challenge April 2026.
Six Wyoming Teams Place in Top 20 at MAGIC Cybersecurity Puzzle Challenge
On April 18, 2026, three teams from Farson Eden School, one team from Rawlins High School and two teams from Carey Junior competed in the national virtual MAGIC Capture the Flag Cybersecurity Puzzle Challenge.
It was Carey Junior High’s second time in the Challenge, placing highest of the group in the top 20 at 12th and 13th. First time competitor, Rawlins High School placed 14th and another first timer, Farson Eden School teams placed 16th, 17th & 18th.
“Our Middle Schoolers absolutely enjoyed the Capture the Flag Challenge. We had some computer issues but overall, the kids thoroughly enjoyed the event and the food,” said Lesieli Dexter of Farson-Eden Middle/High School.
Sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Center (MAGICinc.org) in Maryland, the semi-annual challenge is designed to show students the basic cybersecurity building blocks in a puzzle environment while encouraging logical thinking skills and teamwork.
“I’m especially proud of our junior high teams competing against prominent universities and we had the most creative team names. I particularly liked The Goons from Rawlins High School and Farson Queso from Farson-Eden School. I think it is great that so many first-timers made it in the top 20!” said Laura Baker, President Emerita of the CyberWyoming Alliance.
Twenty-four teams and eighty-two students took part in the Challenge. Participants hailed from the Universidad Iberoamericana, University of Maryland Global Campus, Stevenson University, ITESA (Mexico), CTIS/Qunicy, and the Wyoming junior and high schools.
The Wyoming Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Division paid for the registration, while the CyberWyoming Alliance sent lunch to participating teams.
The next challenge is to be scheduled in mid-October. Registration for Wyoming teams will continue to be funded through a grant from the Wyoming Department of Education’s CTE Division. Because the challenge always occurs on a Saturday over lunch, the CyberWyoming Alliance will again send pizza to the students.
“With ongoing support from fundraising through WyoGives and collaboration with other organizations, initiatives like the MAGIC Capture the Flag Cybersecurity Puzzle Challenge will continue to empower Wyoming students and build a skilled workforce for the future,” said Baker.
