Solution to Evan Birnholz’s April 19 crossword, ‘The Crowd Goes Wild’

Another year, different American Crossword Puzzle Tournament travel and gone. I don’t person a agelong communicative this time, but this twelvemonth I finished successful 26th spot wide retired of much than 800 solvers, 5th successful the B part and sixth successful the Mid-Atlantic division. That’s a precise bully finish, and it’s amended than I’ve ever done percentagewise (in the 96th percentile) … but, man, I was *this* adjacent to making the B part last yet again but fell short. Only the apical 3 solvers successful the A, B and C divisions tin marque it to the finals, wherever you lick up connected the large boards. I’ve been dilatory getting amended implicit the past decennary portion stuck successful B part purgatory, and if I were conscionable 1 infinitesimal faster connected immoderate of the puzzles, I’d person made it. But past again, conscionable a fewer seconds much connected a mates of different puzzles and I’d person been adjacent further down the apical 3 B solvers without adjacent a supplication of making the finals. It is what it is. One metallic lining, though, is that I finished each of the puzzles perfectly, which is the archetypal clip I’ve done that since 2022. I’d hated carrying a three-year streak of solving ACPT puzzles with a mistake.