Austintown Intermediate School third grader Robert Marinelli practices cup stacking after school Thursday in anticipation of participating in a staking tournament Saturday at the school. Marinelli ...

MILFORD — A room full of Woodland Elementary School students watched in awe Tuesday afternoon as 17-year-old Seamus Stoker whipped a dozen lavender-colored cups in and out of pyramid-shaped stacks.

Editor’s note: This segment was rebroadcast on Sept. 30, 2025. Click here for that audio. In the early 2000s, thousands of U.S. schools had their students race the clock to stack cups in gym class.

Flannery Shelfer was trapped, but she was OK with that. Several of her fellow second-grade students at St. Mary's Elementary School surrounded her with a stack of large cups. In just a few seconds, ...