November 11th, 2025 — Wyo4News
Two middle school teams from Farson Eden School went head-to-head with high school and college competitors last month. The teams secured 7th and 8th place finishes in the national virtual MAGIC Capture the Flag Cybersecurity Puzzle Challenge.
The Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Center (MAGIC), based in Maryland, sponsors the semi-annual competition. Industry professionals design entry-level puzzles to test the participants. The event brings together high school, college, and nontraditional students across multiple locations worldwide. It aims to foster logical thinking, teamwork, and ethical hacking skills.
Reflecting on the event, Lesieli Dexter of Farson-Eden Middle/High School shared, “Our middle schoolers had an absolute blast with our girls and boys teams competing against each other during the challenge! We were lucky to have our tech support, Will, on-site with us, and the pizza from the Farson Mercantile was amazing.”
A grant from the Wyoming Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Division funds participation for Wyoming teams. The CTE Division works to provide equitable access to quality career pathways and skilled trades education across the state.
Because the virtual competition takes place on a Saturday over lunch, the CyberWyoming Alliance provides lunch for the participants. The Laramie-based 501(c)3 nonprofit also manages team registrations as part of its statewide cybersecurity education mission.
“I’m especially proud of our junior high teams that compete each year. They may place dead last, but they learn new concepts and it sparks curiosity for the next challenge,” said Laura Baker, President Emerita of the CyberWyoming Alliance.
Looking ahead to the long-term benefit for local students, Baker noted, “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.”
The next competition takes place in mid-April. Visit https://cyberwyoming.org/magic-ctf/ to find registration information for October’s event. You can also check out https://magicinc.org/, https://edu.wyoming.gov/educators/career-tech-ed/, and https://cyberwyoming.org/ to learn more about the participating organizations.
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