Gavin Hoffman, an All-American at Ohio State, joined the Lock Haven wrestling coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.
A Pennsylvania native, Hoffman was a three-time state champion in PA and will return closer to home. He just finished up a long career at Ohio State.
Hoffman went just 5-4 last season and did not wrestle in the postseason, dropping to 184 pounds for his final year.
But, he had a successful two year run at 197 pounds in 2022 and ‘23.
Hoffman finally broke out after being a highly touted recruit and went 14-13 in 2022. That season, he qualified for NCAAs and knocked off Tanner Sloan, Nino Bonaccorsi and Jake Woodley en route to 6th place finish.
Hoffman ran into buzzsaws Max Dean, Rocky Elam and Yonger Bastida, but his podium run was one of the more memorable runs in Detroit.
“Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support this past weekend,” Hoffman wrote on Instagram after his podium run. “This sport has taken me to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This journey was never meant to be easy.”
Hoffman went 16-9 in 2023 and got back to NCAAs in Tulsa, but went 1-2 at the tournament, failing to reach the podium for the second straight year.
Gavin Hoffman begins coaching career at Lock Haven
Hoffman was a three-time Pennsylvania state champion, including an undefeated 45-0 senior season at Montoursville HS. He was an Amateur Wrestling News First Team All-American
Hoffman finished with a high school record of 176-9 and was a top-12 recruit nationally by both Intermat and FloWrestling.
In addition to his scholastic accomplishments, Hoffman was a Flo Nationals champion, a three-time NHSCA champion and a Cadet World bronze medalist.
Hoffman was a guy who certainly helped Ohio State win some duals during his time on campus.
Speaking with On3 last summer, Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan was emphatic about college wrestling creating a dual meet championship.
“So I think that wrestling is the greatest sport on Earth,” Ryan told On3. “And I think that we need a plan which we don’t really have, in my opinion, we don’t have a plan. The focus of the season should be about what team wins their dual meet conference championship. That weekend should be the same for every conference. We have a build up. There should be an RPI for teams. And if you win your conference, you get an automatic bid into the National Dual Meet Championship.
“There are also wildcards. If you’re in the Big Ten and you’re ranked fourth in the country, but your third in your conference, you may get a wildcard into the National Dual Meet Championship. So there’s no question we need a dual meet championship.”
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