Garrettsville – The James A. Garfield High School G-Men track and field teams both won the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference (MVAC) titles at the league championships on May 12th at Mineral Ridge High School. The 2021-2022 school year is the first for the Garfield G-Men in the MVAC, as they had been in the Portage County League or Portage Trail Conference for many years. The MVAC has 16 member schools from the Youngstown-Warren area, and their locations range from Garrettsville all the way to Columbiana. The league is divided into two tiers, their titles a nod to Ohioan pride: Scarlet and Gray. The G-Men are in the Gray tier, along with Brookfield, Campbell Memorial, Champion, Crestview, LaBrae, Liberty, and Newton Falls. Mineral Ridge of the Scarlet tier played host to the event, equipped with their brand new facilities, including a new track and artificial turf football and soccer field.
The G-Men boys’ conference championship made it their fifth in the last seven years, which includes four Portage Trail Conference championships and a canceled season due to COVID-19. The G-Men started the meet off with a bang and never looked back. They were able to get 33 points from throwers Jesse Grace and Riley LaPorte, the latter of whom won both the shot put and discus throws. Scoring at track and field meets is based on a points system. The top 8 individuals from each event score points, and the scoring goes 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, with the first place individual scoring 10 points for their team. Senior Ryan Stoller, who contributed a whopping 38 points to the team’s tally, secured meet MVP honors for the Gray tier boys side. Stoller won the 110 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, and the long jump, while coming in second in the 200 meter dash. Other standout performances from the G-Men include the 4 X 800 meter relay team of Ben Garlich, Ethan Tarnowski, Mauricio Miller, and Kyle Schaefer getting second place, Senior Brody Swigonski getting second to Stoller in both hurdle events, Ben Garlich winning the 3200 meter run and getting second in the 1600 meter run, and Kyle Schaefer getting second in the 800 meter run. The G-Men ended up with a 53-point margin over second place Crestview, 160-107.
The Lady G-Men girls’ championship was much more dramatic than the boys, but was just as impressive. They secured their first conference title in school history. Their only other banner hanging in JAG Fieldhouse is for a District Title in 2016. Senior Zoe Turner secured meet MVP honors for the Lady G-Men. She contributed 34 points for her team as she won the 400 meter dash, got second in the 200 meter dash, got third in the 100 meter dash, and was the anchor leg for the 4 X 400 meter relay team with Leah Bailey, Rylie Turner, and Megan Schaefer that won the ladies the whole thing. The 4 X 400 meter relay is the last event in high school track meets, and on May 12th, it was under the lights. The Lady G-Men were up one point on Crestview going into the event, so the stakes were simple. Either win the race and win the whole thing, or get second and hope Crestview does not win. A victory for Crestview would have meant a one-point victory for the Rebels, and defeat for the G-Men. Zoe Turner did her thing and was able to make a comeback in the final leg for the victory under the lights and a storybook ending. Other standout performances for the Lady G-Men include Leah Bailey getting third in the 400 meter dash, Megan Schaefer and Kourtney Brahler getting second and third in the 800 meter run, Sophia Walz and Megan Berecek getting first and third in the 1600 meter run, Walz taking third in the 3200 meter run, Grace Spreitzer getting second and third in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, the 4 by 800 meter relay team of Kourtney Brahler, Aubrey Stonestreet, Megan Berecek, and Megan Schaefer getting first, Hannah Kernig winning the long jump, and Sophia Scott getting second and third in the shot put and discus throws. Congrats to the JAG Track and Field teams on a very successful season.
