Howard Barkin wins first ACPT
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| Don Christensen; from ACPT website |
In a year where the impossible seemed within reach - Dan Feyer steamrolling to a possible seventh consecutive American Crossword Puzzle Tournament trophy - the unthinkable happened. Howard Barkin, longtime bump in the road whenever Feyer or his predecessor Tyler Hinman would win tournaments, now has an ACPT soup tureen to call his own, along with $7,000 in cash for a nice dinner out with the family.
Barkin, who also won the New Jersey state title, defeated Feyer (second place) and David Plotkin (third). Going into the final round, Feyer was first by three minutes over both Barkin and Plotkin, with Barkin seeded second due to a better time on Saturday's Puzzle 6.
Doug Peterson won the B division title over Michael Megargee and Emily O'Neill, who did win for top foreign solver (she is from Canada).
Rookie winner Miriam Sicherman finished third in the C finals. The champ there was Christopher Baker, with a perfect solve in 8:45, nineteen seconds ahead of Sam Donaldson.
Other division and regional winners:
D: Claire Rimkus
E: Dean Romano
Junior: Sam Ezersky
Fifties: Al Sanders
Sixties: Jon Delfin
Seventies: Neil Singer
Senior: Thomas Hennessy
West: Feyer
Connecticut: Ron Osher
New England: Joon Pahk
New York City: Francis Heaney
Long Island: Thomas Weisswange
Upstate New York: Arnold Reich
Mid-Atlantic: Megargee
South: Plotkin
Midwest: Anne Ellison
Puzzle Brother Bob Mackey placed much lower than usual this year, 52nd, due to multiple errors. Dave Mackey did not attend the tournament this year.
The 40th ACPT will be back in Stamford the weekend of March 24-26, 2017.
