Garrettsville – Another year, another pair of titles for the Garfield G-Men track teams. Both the boys and girls teams repeated as Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier champions for track and field. This was accomplished by winning the league meet on Tuesday, May 9th at Champion High School. Both this year’s and last year’s titles for the Lady G-Men were their first in program history, while the boys are in the midst of a five-peat. They won the league in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19.
Both teams showed off how deep they are, and the strong culture that the programs have. Head Coach Matt Pfleger and Assistant Coaches Jim Pfleger and Kellian Collins put in valuable time with their athletes that places them in a good position to be successful, and it shows. The girls team had 159 points, beating second place Crestview, who scored 148 points. The boys dominated from the start with 153 points. Second place Brookfield had 85.
Sophomore Hannah Kernig scored 23 points as she won the long jump and placed highly in the 100 meter hurdles and high jump. Freshman Mandy Cardinal contributed 29 points. She won the 400 meter dash and anchored the 4 by 400 meter relay team amongst other events. Senior Megan Schaefer also had herself a day. She anchored the winning 4 by 800 meter relay team, won the open 800 meter run, and was on the champion 4 by 400 meter relay team. Freshman Kat McMayon contributed 24 points herself, with high finishes in the 4 by 800, 1600, and 800. Freshman Riley Grace won the shot put and with her teammates Elise Edwards and Lille Shackelford, the Lady G-Men snagged 28 points from the throws.
On the boys’ side, senior Jesse Grace got the G-Men rolling with victories in both the shot put and discus for 20 points. The distance runners also had a day. It started with a win in the 4 by 800, then freshman Derek Blunk and senior Ben Garlich went 1-2 in both the 1600 and 3200. Another 46 points were added from junior Ethan Bittence in long jump, high jump, 110 meter hurdles, and 300 meter hurdles, junior Christian Gallagher in the 300 meter hurdles, junior Leo Grandizio in long jump, and sophomores Cade Rock and Nick Edic in high jump and 110 meter hurdles, respectively. These were not all the top 8 finishes for the girls or boys teams, but these results made a bulk of their points. The G-Men track teams’ depth was on full display when it mattered most, and it led to successful evenings.
In other G-Men news, the district meet for track and field is slated for this week, as is the sectional game for baseball. After a solid year, the softball team’s season ended in a loss to Pymatuning Valley last week.
Looking for more ways to learn more about what’s happening at GHS? The JAG Student Media club has launched a podcast called “Beyond the Bureau.” Available on Apple Podcasts, Google, Amazon Music and other services, “Beyond the Bureau” features weekly discussions with the students, faculty and staff that make the JAG Schools a great place to be. Upcoming guests include Junior Eric Geddes, Sophomore Marshall Dahlen and JAG Superintendent Ted Lysiak.
