After a four-year stretch of memorable performances at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state tournament, it was a quiet weekend for the Garfield G-Men wrestling team. Junior 113-pound Camron Lewicki went 0-2 while sophomore 138-pound Landon Andel posted a 1-2 record last weekend at The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center last weekend in Columbus.
The G-Men had some dominating performances at the Division III state tournament over the last four years, including the previous two as former standouts Hunter Andel and Keegan Sell became the first pair of wrestlers to win state titles in school history. Sell defended his state championship in 2024 to become the first two-time state champion in school history.
The last time the G-Men did not have a wrestler place was in 2019 and the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.
On Friday, Lewicki was ousted from the championship bracket when he was overpowered by the reigning state runner-up junior Scotty Fuller from Genoa Area, losing by a 17-2 technical fall.
Later in the day, the junior’s first time at the state tournament ended when he also lost in the first round of the consolation bracket to Miami East freshman Lucas Shore 9-3
Landon was also eliminated from the championship bracket when he was defeated 5-0 by junior Colten Taylor of St. Paris Graham Local.
Landon only trailed 2-0 in the final minute of the first period but struggled to gain any position on Taylor and the junior delivered the dagger when he scored a takedown near the end of the third period to seal his victory,
“I felt discouraged when I was not finishing my shots,” Landon acknowledged. “That is when he got more of a lead on me than it should have been.”
The G-Men sophomore rebounded by capturing a 12-3 major decision victory when he edged sophomore Holden Hodgson from Nelsonville-York, extending his season by at least one more day.
Landon controlled the match from the start, scoring three quick points on a take down in the first period and almost pinned Hodgson but still was awarded four points on a near fall, extending his lead to 7-0.
In the second period, he continued overpowering Hodgson by scoring three points on another near fall, extending his advantage to 10-0.
Despite allowing three points in the third period, he had firm control of the match to wrap up his first career state tournament victory.
“It feels good,” he said. “I definitely needed to work a lot more on my shots and getting up to my feet, but it feels pretty good. The mindset is to keep grinding and never stop wrestling.”
He added that sealing his first career state victory gave him a better understanding of what his older brother, Hunter, Garfield’s first state champion, experienced during his time competing at the state meet.
“It feels amazing trying to follow in my brother’s shoes and trying to be who he was,” Landon noted. “It is definitely an honor to be here.”
On Saturday, Landon fell short of earning a spot as an All-Ohioan when he was defeated in the second round of the consolation bracket when Barnesville sophomore Colt Carpenter edged him in a 1-0 decision.
In a very physical battle, surrendering an escape in the second period proved costly for Landon as he could not overcome Carpenter’s defense to bring him to the mat, ending his time at the state tournament.
Despite an early end to the festivities in the final week of high school wrestling, Landon and Lewicki’s state bids wrapped up a successful season for Garfield, competing in its first season without either Hunter or Sell’s leadership. Despite only having two seniors on the roster, the G-Men’s underclass paved the way for success and Landon and Lewicki now have the goal of repeating as state qualifiers next year.
