Garfield didn’t have to travel far for the Portage County High School Wrestling Tournament. The G-Men wrestled on their own mats, in their own gym, and spent the day testing themselves against a full county field.
When the final scores were tallied, Garfield finished sixth in the 10-team tournament with 109.5 points. The total came from a mix of big moments at the top of the brackets and steady work everywhere else — one champion, three runners-up, a fifth-place finish, and a long list of matches that didn’t end on the podium but mattered all the same.
The middle of the lineup carried much of the scoring, and it showed early. Garfield wrestlers kept moving forward through the championship brackets, keeping the G-Men visible in match after match as the day wore on.
At 138 pounds, Luke Kaufman gave the home crowd its clearest moment of the tournament. He worked his way through the bracket, stayed composed in tight spots, and closed the day by winning the championship match. When the final whistle sounded, Kaufman stood as Garfield’s lone county champion — and did it at home.
Keaton Ellison followed at 150 pounds, pushing into the finals after a strong run through the championship side. He finished second, adding another set of points and continuing a stretch where Garfield seemed to have someone wrestling late in nearly every round. Cole Porter did the same at 157, earning a spot in the final and finishing as the runner-up after a full day of work. Just one weight later, Griffin Kline reached the title bout at 165, giving Garfield three finalists in a four-weight span.
Garfield also picked up points at 144 pounds, where Marc Grubb bounced back after an early loss and wrestled his way into the fifth-place match. His finish added to the team total and reflected the depth of the lineup, not just the top-end results.
The rest of the roster filled the mats throughout the day. Wrestlers at 106, 113, 120, 126, 175, 190, 215 and 285 pounds battled through their brackets, some coming within a match of placing, others gaining experience that doesn’t show up in a results box. Not every run ended with a medal, but every bout counted toward the team’s day.
Hosting the tournament brought its own energy. Familiar surroundings, familiar faces in the stands, and a full gym made for a long, loud day of wrestling. Garfield stayed engaged from the first round through the final matches, with teammates rotating from the mats to the corner and back again.
By the end of the tournament, the numbers told part of the story. One champion. Four wrestlers in finals. Five on the podium. The rest showed up, battled, and helped shape the result. On its home mat, Garfield didn’t just compete — it showed what a complete team effort looks like.