By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
It is not often that one can see a died-in-the-blue Wynford Royal wearing red. But the rare sight was in full view in the Wynford Media Center on Thursday afternoon when senior Seth Hoffman signed his letter of intent to as a recruited walk-on at Miami University in Oxford where he will compete in track.
“We went on visits to Tiffin for track. We went to Malone, that was a later visit. I talked to quite a few other coaches through texts and email too, but I felt the best at Miami,” Seth said. “I loved everything about it. I loved the campus, I loved the atmosphere. I thought the coach there was perfect for me.”
Seth said knowing that track scholarships typically are not full in nature, and more of a “have to go there and earn it type of thing,” the areas of study and degrees offered became a major factor in his decision. With a 3.5 GPA at Wynford, Seth said he will be studying engineering at Miami.
“It feels good knowing where I want to go for a while now,” Seth said about having his college choice behind him. “It’s a weight off my shoulders.”
Seth’s senior track season as a Royal has been one to remember beginning with the Crawford County Meet on his home turf back in April. He captured both the discus as well as shot put events that evening and was named co-MVP of the field events. Seth also won the shot put at the N10 league meet and was third in the discus there. At the District Meet he claimed the top spot in the shot put event with a personal best effort and was second in the discus.
His hope is to complete his high school career at the Ohio High School State Track Meet and will try to qualify today (Friday) at the Regional Meet in Tiffin.
As far as his track and field career as a RedHawk, Seth’s father, Mike, noted there will be four events open to Seth: shot put, discus, hammer, and weight throw. Seth said he’s already been working on the hammer and he fully expects to compete in varsity events as a freshman.
“I think I have the most growth potential in that one,” Seth said of the hammer throw.
Mike Hoffman, also a Wynford faculty member as well as a Michigan State graduate where he played football for the Spartans, spoke glowingly of the facilities at Miami.
“I think some of his decision, too, was they have a really nice track/football indoor facility there. The weight room has all been redone, it’s pretty nice,” Mike Hoffman said.
Seth said his father pointed out that hard work is ahead in both the classroom and in athletics. When asked he said the prospect of trying out as a walk-on on the football team are not in his plans.
“I think my football days are over,” Seth said with a laugh, although he noted he does have an all-star game yet to play.
And then it’s off to Oxford.