For the last five years, the Garfield G-Men wrestling team has benefited by having leaders in the wrestling room in standout wrestlers Hunter Andel and Keeegan Sell. With both wrestlers now having graduated, the G-Men are ready to usher in a new wave of talent for the upcoming season.
“I would say overall we are a team of sophomores,” Coach Dan Andel told The Weekly Villager on Dec. 5. “We have a lot of sophomores filling weight classes this year so definitely there is a big void to fill with Hunter and Keegan gone specifically. We have a lot of talent in that sophomore class. I see good things on the horizon.”
In Garfield’s first season in two years without having the benefit of either of the first (??) Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III wrestlers on the team this year, there lineup will now be consisting of at least nine underclassmen, including seven sophomores.
According to the nine-year coach, the sophomore class is brimming with talent and several sophomores received significant varsity experience last year.
“That is where we are at,” he added. “It could go either way this year, we are on the cusp of that talent level and turning the corner and maturing into those weight classes. District III in general is more competitive this year then last year. The dynamics are changing with the competitiveness in Division III but I feel but we will rebound from losing Keegan.”
Andel would not label the season as a “rebuilding” year for the program but rather an in-between season as some newer talent will gain experience while experienced underclassmen will seek to take the next step.
Garfield’s success this season hinges on how well the trio of sophomores, 138-pounder Landon Andel, 126-pounder Luke Kaufman and junior 113-pounder Camron Lewicki, perform.
The only returning Division III sectional champion for Garfield, after competing in the 106-pound bracket last year, Lewicki will move up a weight class this year.
“He has got the skillset and the talent and the physical ability,” noted Coach Andel. “If he focuses and sets a realistic goal of placing at the state tournament and does what it takes, I think he is down there. He is an all-around wrestler, he is one in my opinion that I would expect to make it to Columbus this year.”
The 126-pound Kaufman is another returning district qualifier who also will be moving up a weight class after competing in the 113-pound bracket last season.
“Luke did qualify for the districts and had a great season last year,” Coach Andel said. “He continued to work hard and wrestled and qualified for Greco at Fargo over the summer and just competed. He did not stop wrestling and trained all year and I think that will come to his aid and be an advantage.”
The final member of the G-Men’s trio will be sophomore Landon, who moves up to the 138-pound bracket after finishing last year as a Division III district alternate in the 126-pound weight class.
“Landon is talented and he has wrestled since he was four-years-old,” said Coach Andel. “He competed in big events and the ball is in his court to see how far he wants to push it this year and where he wants to land. He is young as a sophomore, he just turned 15 at the end of the summer so he is not like an old kid, but he is definitely mature for his age.”
Coach Andel acknowledged that while the trio of Landon, Kaufman and Lewicki will dictate the team’s success this year, Garfield also will have some gems in freshman 165-pounder Ryder Cain and senior 190-pounder Harper Troyer.
Despite only being a freshman, the G-Men will roll Cain into a weight class that is usually dominated by upperclassmen, but Coach Andel voiced his confidence that Cain can hold his own.
“Ryder is a phenomenal athlete and not just a phenomenal wrestler and as long as Ryder can be a little patient with entering and filling the lineup as a freshman at 165 and just continue to develop in the room, he is going to be one of the better kids on the team,” Coach Andel said.
One of only three seniors on the team, Coach Andel also highlighted how big a role Troyer will play for a young G-Men squad.
“He is the backbone and he is a big strong kid and has been wrestling for years,” he said, “He is another one who will be a competitor for us.”
After a season-opening road dual meet against Rootstown on Thursday evening, the G-Men will compete in the Russ Ward Memorial Tournament at Cardinal High School in Middlefield on Saturday morning beginning at 9:30 a.m.
