UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State undergraduate team has advanced to the North American Championship of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) after earning a bronze medal at the 2025 East Central North American (ECNA) regional competition.
Three Penn State teams of two to three students each competed at the ECNA regional contest, alongside 83 teams from universities across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ontario. Penn State teams competed at the Youngstown State University site. The team competing under the name Barbell with students Nikita Kiselovand Siddharth Sai Pendyala finished 12th overall in the ECNA regional standings, a placement that earned the team one of four bronze medals and secured Penn State’s advancement to the ICPC North American Championship.
The ICPC is the world’s oldest and largest collegiate programming competition, drawing tens of thousands of students from universities across the globe each year. Teams compete by solving complex algorithmic problems under time pressure, with rankings determined by the number of problems solved and total elapsed time.
While Barbell placed 12th in the ECNA regional contest, a separate ranking is used to determine advancement to the North American Championship. Under ICPC rules, only the highest-ranked team from each university may advance. In this university-based ranking, Barbell placed sixth in the ECNA region, finishing behind teams from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Waterloo, Michigan State University, the University of Toronto and Purdue University.
According to Antonio Blanca, Penn State associate professor of computer science and engineering and the team’s coach, this year’s advancement is particularly notable because the Penn State Barbell team competed with only two students instead of the usual three.
Despite the disadvantage, the team solved nine of the 12 problems presented, which was the same number solved by teams placing from second through 13th. Final placements were determined by time-based tie breaks, with incorrect submissions carrying additional penalties, a factor that posed a particular challenge for a team of only two students.
“Our team performed at the level of teams from some of the top computer science programs in the country, including several with a strong tradition in these contests, demonstrating not only technical skill but also resilience and adaptability under intense time pressure,” Blanca said.
This marks the third consecutive year that a Penn State team has advanced to the ICPC North American Championship, highlighting sustained excellence in undergraduate computing education and competitive programming.
At the championship level, teams will face top competitors from across North America for a limited number of spots to compete at the ICPC World Finals, where they will representtheir universities on the global stage.