Elmwood’s first family of XC ends successful 13-year run
By JEFF LAMPE
Weekly Post Staff Writer
ELMWOOD – After 13 seasons, more than $12,000 in running shoes and six state cross country trophies, the last Hoffmann will run a race for the Elmwood-Brimfield Trojans this Saturday. Senior Luke Hoffmann is the last of four brothers to run for E-B and Coach Gregg Meyers. Each has been part of a state championship team: Jordan, 26, in 2008, Kelly, 23, in 2013, and Cooper, 20, and Luke in 2017.
Parents Bruce Hoffmann and Penny Silzer say that 2017 championship, when Luke was a freshman and Cooper was a junior, was one of the family highlights. But there are plenty of others. Road race wins. Cross country meet wins. Kelly and Cooper both competing at a Division III regional meet. The country, which is somewhat surprising given that Bruce Hoffmann has no background in the sport.
“I remember when Penny signed Jordan up for cross country in fifth grade and I was thinking, ‘What is that?’” said Bruce Hoffmann, a native Californian who never ran competitively.
He learned quickly. Wife Penny is the sister of Betsy Silzer, the most decorated woman runner in Elmwood school history. Her brother Greg was an assistant at Elmwood.
All that history has helped Luke, says E-B Coach Gregg Meyers. “Because of all the experience they’ve had, each of them has gotten a little better,” Meyers said. “For Cooper and Luke, having two brothers go through it before and seeing them have success, it was real easy for them to buy into what we were doing. That background helped with their success.”
And Luke, in turn, credits Cooper as his most helpful sibling. “He taught me the importance of training and race strategy,” Luke said. “I learned to race from him.”
What is his strategy?
“You want to get out strong in the first mile, but you don’t want to go out crazy.” In Mile 2, Luke said he locks onto a group of runners ahead of him and starts passing people. But he also tries to be aware if other runners went out too fast or are exceeding their normal performances.
“I like to start kind of conservative and pass people.” The final mile is all about, “attacking the course and giving it all you’ve got.” The thinking part of a race is something Luke said he enjoys most about cross country. “People don’t give it the respect it should get. They say, ‘Oh, you just run,’” Luke said. “I like the mental aspect.”
That approach has worked well for the youngest Hoffmann, who had his coming out party as a freshman at Maple Lane Country Club. After a junior high career during which he was a strong contributor but never pushed past being a No. 3 runner, Hoffmann won the JV race at the Elmwood Invite on a crisp October day.
He has never looked back.
“That gave me confidence for the rest of the year,” he said. “I just kept getting better.” The same has happened each year of high school, during which time he picked up the nickname Mr. October among coaches because of his ability to come on strong as the season nears an end. “Most kids are building the intensity every week. He has that rare ability to flip that switch and kick it on when October comes,” Meyers said. “But if you were to ask most people about our program, that’s true too. When October comes, it’s a different story for us. And I think he just kind of exemplifies that.”
This year, Hoffmann has been running hard since the start of the season – in part because there was no guarantee the sectionals would happen given the realities of COVID-19.
Luke also worked harder this offseason, adding push-ups to his exercise regime and running 870 miles this summer. The end result has been a very successful season. E-B is ranked No. 3 in the state and won easily at Saturday’s Petersburg Regional. In that race, Luke posted a winning time of 14:52.21 – the fastest time in Hoffmann history, but with a caveat. The Petersburg course was just 2.9 miles, meaning brother Cooper’s 17th-place state finish of 15:21 in 2017 is still the mark to beat.
Luke came close last year, placing 22nd in 15:24. And he was hoping to crack the top 10 at state this year, before COVID cancelled the race. So Saturday offers one last chance to better his brother’s time, added incentive for a race already loaded with reasons to run fast. Top-ranked Stanford Olympia is favored to win the Elmwood Sectional and has already defeated E-B twice this season.
“I’m looking at sectionals as the big race,” Luke said. He’ll have plenty of family members on hand to cheer, as Kelly and Cooper will both be back to watch. Only Jordan, in the Air Force in the state of Washington, will be unable to return.
As for the future, Luke plans to run in college. Top prospects at this point are North Central College, Elmhurst University, Loras College and Heartland Community College. While that may mean his parents spend more time elsewhere in the fall, they won’t forget Elmwood.
“The boys would say to a man, having Coach Meyers and his dad, that’s what glued it all together,” Bruce Hoffmann said.
Though Luke Hoffmann’s regional winning time of 14:52 came on a 2.9-mile course, it is still the fastest finish posted in the Hoffmann family.
