The Garfield G-Men track & field team has ruled the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference for four straight years and has also demonstrated a strong track record in the throwing events but are seeking to add more representation at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division IV state meet.
“You are always fighting the weather, but the kids have been working extremely hard whether we are indoor or outdoor, the kids have been putting in the work,” said Coach Jim Pfleger. “We have a great coaching staff put together so I am fired up and ready to go.”
For the first time in OHSAA history, the postseason has been expanded to five divisions, with the G-Men now residing in Division IV, after previously having its boys’ team compete in Division II and the girls in Division III.
As far as the first-year coach is concerned, the new postseason format of five divisions is a welcome change for Garfield.
“I think it is really going to open the doors for us especially in a few of our other events,” he added. “It is still not going to be easy to make it down which is good, it is not like anything is going to be given to you, but we do feel like it did even the playing field in some of the areas for us so it should be good.”
The G-Men return multi-state champion Connor Hunt, who has swept the seated events in his first three years with the program and will attempt to conclude his high school career with one more perfect performance at the OHSAA Division IV state meet before he continues his athletic career at the University of Cincinnati.
As usual, the G-Men’s throwers remain one of their strongest position groups, with returning state qualifying seniors Elise Edwards and Riley Grace returning a year removed after Edwards placed 14th in the discus throw and Grace took 11th place in the shot put.
“Those two have really had great offseasons,” noted Pfleger. “They always have, and they have been throwing with us since they are in seventh grade, so they know what it takes to put the work in. Last year was a great experience for them going down.”
Pfleger listed junior Hannah Timmons as another thrower who can make a big step this year after finishing in seventh place in the discus throw at the OHSAA Division III North Royalton regional last year.
The Garfield boys will also seek to qualify a thrower to the OHSAA Division IV state meet, as there has not been one who has qualified since the 2023 OHSAA Division II state meet when Jesse Grace finished in third place in the shot put.
Sophomores Jack Timmons and Ryder Cain will anchor the G-Men in the discus throw.
“They had really good indoor seasons and both of them threw right around 46 feet in the shot put which are good marks for sophomores and both of them looked really good outdoors,” Pfleger added.
Seniors Richie Shackelford, Gavin Barnard and Michael Huebner will compete in the shot put for Garfield.
Pfleger is excited about the strength of the 4×400 team, which returns sophomore Mac Haney, and juniors Will Simon and Oliver Walker.
Junior Colin McGranahan is expected to be Garfield’s primary hurdler this year.
“He had a strong sophomore year, and we are looking for him to have a great junior year this year and if you watch basketball or football this year, you know what a great athlete those guys are,” Pfleger said.
On the running side of things, standout freshman Lina Kaufman will pace the G-Men in the distance events, after finishing her cross-country season as a Division III All-Ohioan, and will be flanked by senior Kathlene McMayon and sophomore Nora Yukich.
“Obviously everybody knows Lina was All-Ohio cross country and she competed on the national level in middle school and continues to, but we bring back some talent though. Kathlene is a senior this year and I think she is going to have a great senior year,” Pfleger noted. “Nora is another real talented distance girl for us.”
Pfleger added that sophomore Olivia Kuchenbecker will be a key competitor for the G-Men girls, on the heels of a strong indoor track season and a promising outdoor freshman season when she competed in the hurdling events.
“Olivia is just a phenomenal athlete. She qualified for the indoor state meet in the triple jump and just missed the hurdles and had a great season,” he said. “I think Olivia is another one that we could see potentially in Columbus at the end of this year.”
Garfield’s season begins when it competes at the 6th annual William E. Fisher Invitational at Cardinal High School beginning on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
