Garfield, Mogadore, Waterloo to compete at Waterloo Classic

Here are five things to know about this weekend's Waterloo Division III Classic, which will feature three local teams (Garfield, Mogadore and Waterloo):

1. The importance of the Classic

When John Foster took over as the head wrestling coach at Waterloo, one of his biggest tasks, in addition to leading the Vikings, was assuming responsibility for the Division III Classic, which the school has hosted since 2014. (The tournament actually began at Richmond Heights in 2000, before the school lost its wrestling program. Brian Munger, Foster's predecessor, and Ken Riley helped bring it back, at Waterloo, in 2014.) Per Foster, it's a team effort, with even superintendent Angela Terella pitching in to help run the clock last year.

"I can't even express how much help I get from everybody," Foster said. "We run eight mats. Every mat will have four volunteers that covers all night Friday night and we start back up 10 a.m. on Saturday and typically get out by 8:00 Saturday night. Every single table will be manned with volunteers."

In many ways, regardless of coaching changes or technological adjustments (including using FloWrestling at this year's tournament), the Classic is still about its original mission, providing a little glimpse of a Division III postseason that is still months away. To that end, per Foster, 31 state-ranked wrestlers (by BoroFan) representing 18 teams (from as far away as Alexander, Martins Ferry and Tuscarawas Valley) will be present at Waterloo.

"It's a good baseline," Mogadore coach Duane Funk said. "This is where we get our baseline every year to see how we do at this tournament, and then we learn from our losses and we kind of write our things down of what we need to work on."

2. Garfield brings dynamic duo to Waterloo

South Range, last year's Division III Garfield Heights District champion, is not the only powerhouse coming to Waterloo this weekend.

In fact, two of the top wrestlers in the state that will be competing are from Portage County, as Garfield senior Hunter Andel and junior Keegan Sell will be must-watch wrestlers this weekend.

Andel, the second-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds in Division III according to BoroFan, could end up seeing the third-ranked wrestler, South Range's Jake Starkey, and even Waterloo's Justin Fox, the third-ranked wrestler at 157 (if Fox wrestles at 165 this weekend). Already, despite the season being so young, Andel has wrestled the second-ranked wrestler in Division I, GlenOak's Brandon Batson, in the Solon Comet Classic championship match, with Andel losing a close one (3-1) and walking away feeling like he could've won the bout.

"He was disappointed," Garfield coach Dan Andel said. "He took probably 10 to one shots. He probably pushed the tempo way too hard. He was a little too aggressive, I would say."

Sell has been no less impressive, including a Solon Comet Classic title, with both wrestlers doggedly determined to capture the program's first state title.

Andel, the G-Men coach, said he'll sometimes bring up the way last year ended, with losses in the state semifinals and consolation semifinals, to motivate both wrestlers.

"Bottle up that negative energy and what they felt and use that as a training tool for this year so that we don't let that mistake happen again," Andel said. "So, yeah, make sure they're ready."

Of course, Andel and Sell aren't the only G-Men wrestlers to watch as Joseph Sparks will debut at 157, after going through their descent program.

"[Sparks] is probably one to keep an eye on as far as breaking through and doing something this year," Andel said. "Grayson [Hoover] should do well, Joseph Sparks, Hunter, Keegan, and then Aiden Kissell came back and he's going 215 this year, so he's filling a bigger weight class, but he's capable of winning some matches there and making it on the podium as well."

3. Waterloo seeks a better week

This weekend is a chance for the Vikings to get some revenge, per Foster, after "we kind of laid an egg a little bit" at United last week.

Still, if last weekend didn't live up to Foster's expectations, several Waterloo wrestlers have gotten off to great starts, including sophomore Dublin Porter (106) snagging runner-up honors in back-to-back weeks and Rex Fryer (120) capturing a title at Malvern and runner-up honors at United.

"Jayden Hakin has two third-place finishes and the two losses he took were really close losses," Foster added. "So he's right in there with the best of these kids, and then, [Justin] Fox is 7-0 with six pins, and so he's been pretty dominant."

4. Young Mogadore will gain experience fast

So much for an easy warm-up.

For the Wildcats, this tricky tournament has long been their leadoff event. Mogadore wrestling, much like boys basketball at the school, tends to start late, to allow football players to not have to stress about a collision of sports during a long postseason run. So, Friday and Saturday's tournament will mark the Wildcats' first matches of the year.

"I think it'll be interesting," Funk said. "I want to see how we all do because we haven't wrestled yet. This is our first match. We just hydrated last Thursday because of football."

Always an intriguing first tournament, this Classic should be particularly interesting for Funk, given the relative youth of his team.

"I really want to see how [freshmen] Mason [King] and Dylan [Benedum] and I want to see how our [other] freshmen do, which I think they'll do well," Funk said. "Our sophomores with Owen [Roberts] and [Travis] Hummel and either Blake [Hershberger] or Breaden [Manley] and Kasey [Pruitt] being healthy, I want to see how they do. Cole Reese should do well. It'll be interesting."

5. South Range, United are other wrestling squads to watch

Outside of Portage County's three squads, one team to watch throughout the weekend, per Foster, is obvious: South Range.

"South Range won it last year as a team, and because of football [winning a state title], their football kids that wrestle haven't really competed yet," Foster said. "There's a few kids here and there almost from every school that's legit, but I think probably South Range as a whole would be the team to beat this year at the tournament."

United is another team to watch. The Vikings came several points shy of the runner-up Golden Eagles a couple of weeks ago at Malvern, despite wrestling with just 10 kids. Moreover, Mogadore senior Tyler Shellenbarger could end up battling United heavyweight Dallas McCracken in a rematch of last year's third-place contest at the Garfield Heights district tournament.

Meanwhile, Andel will likely see Fox and/or Starkey.

"Starkey should be at 165," Dan Andel said. "I hope they're both in there, so we get good matches, but unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way."

Of course, sometimes it's the matchups between wrestlers from far-flung schools that make the Classic so intriguing.

"Just the cool thing about the tournament is you're bringing teams from Martins Ferry and you're bringing teams that you don't ever see and you don't know," Foster said. "You hear names from kids in previous years that were state qualifiers or state placers, but it's not uncommon, especially at lighter weights, for some kid to come out of junior high that nobody's ever heard of and, like, 'Where did this kid come from?'"

Waterloo Division III Classic

Participating Schools: Alexander, Chippewa, Columbiana, Crestview, East Palestine, Independence, Garfield, Manchester, Martins Ferry, Mogadore, Sandy Valley, South Range, St. Thomas Aquinas, Tuscarawas Valley, United Local, Waterloo, Wellington, Wellsville

Times (may be approximate): Friday 4:30p-10p, Saturday 10a-7p

Location: Waterloo High School

Results: They will be posted at FloWrestling (https://www.flowrestling.org/events/9018493-waterloo-d3-classic)

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Garfield, Mogadore, Waterloo wrestling to compete at Waterloo Classic