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Happy birthday to Abbigail Schultz!

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Man charged with making a false report after hitting a utility pole

<p>After taking the worst loss in his high school career last month after falling in the state final, Jimmy Hoffman didn&#8217;t know exactly when he would get over the setback in the biggest match of his young life.</p><p>Sitting in the car on the way back to Hazleton from Hershey, Hoffman knew something wasn&#8217;t right when the vehicle got to the Department of Motor Vehicles building in Hazleton.</p><p>That&#8217;s when the Hazleton Area junior noticed several firetrucks and police cars. The city had setup an escort for Hoffman through the town to celebrate his season.</p><p>Right then, the Times Leader Wrestler of the Year spirits were lifted when his coach Keith Maurer informed him of the surprise.</p><p>&#8220;When we all got there (at the DMV) they knew. I was the only one left out, it was a pretty cool surprise,&#8221; Hoffman said. &#8220;And it was at 10-11 at night and we were waking up everyone in town that&#8217;s what I liked best about it.&#8221;</p><p>Sirens and horns from the trucks and cars blared throughout Hazleton. Imagine what the celebration would be if he had won the state title.</p><p>&#8220;Those were my exact words,&#8221; Hoffman said.</p><p>It was fitting that Hoffman was part of a wild ride heading back home after states, because his season was like a rollercoaster ride.</p><p>He encountered many ups and downs starting with tournament championships at the Sheetz Holiday Classic, the Coal Cracker Tournament and the Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament. Soon after though, Hoffman and his team dropped a dual to eventual WVC Division 1 winner Tunkhannock.</p><p>From there, Hoffman lost to Scranton&#8217;s Rui Evanitsky in the District 2 Class 3A Duals Tournament where the Cougars&#8217; hot also ended.</p><p>Evanitsky got the best of Hoffman again in the 132-pound finals of the District 2 Class 3A Tournament.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like life when something is going good, something bad will happen,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You just have to push on and something good is going to happen.&#8221;</p><p>It didn&#8217;t take long for the something good to come through.</p><p>Hoffman made it to regionals and reached the semifinals for the second straight year. But a loss in the semis and the third-place match gave Hoffman an unfavorable seed heading to the PIAA Championships.</p><p>That didn&#8217;t seem to bother him.</p><p>In fact, all those things set up his chance for a run to the state final. If that entire postseason scenario didn&#8217;t happen in that order, Hoffman may not have even got to the championship match. It&#8217;s like it all happened for a reason.</p><p>&#8220;Absolutely, my mom says that to me all the time, that everything happens for a reason, God says that too,&#8221; Hoffman said. &#8220;And I believed in her and it all worked out fine.&#8221;</p><p>Hoffman, who entered high school with a high ceiling by many around the sport, will have one more season to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning state gold.</p><p>But for right now, he&#8217;s still living in the moment and the accomplishments he produced this past season when he picked up his first state medal in three tries in a big way.</p><p>&#8220;I was flying high. It was a great time. Just being able to get to states in an accomplishment in itself and getting to the finals with the spotlight on you and the parade of champions is something else,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He will start his senior season flying higher than ever with expectations at an all-time high. But from what he had to overcome in 2015 to get one goal accomplished, the next season&#8217;s goal could be much easier.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hazleton Area&#8217;s Jimmy Hoffman, state runner-up in the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at 132-pounds in the Times Leader Wrestler of the Year. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_JIMMY-HOFFMAN.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hazleton Area&#8217;s Jimmy Hoffman, state runner-up in the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at 132-pounds in the Times Leader Wrestler of the Year. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Times Leader Wrestler of the Year claimed state silver</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Hoffman&#8217;s Highlights</strong></p><p>The 132-pounder is the Times Leader Wrestler of the Year, Hoffman reached the state final and grabbed the silver medal. He reached the PIAA Championships for the third straight year by finishing fourth in the Northeast Region. He was runner-up in the District 2 Class 3A Tournament, the first time he didn&#8217;t win that event. He also claimed golds at the WVC Tournament, the Sheetz Holiday Classic and the Coal Cracker Tournament. He was second at the season-opening Top Hat Tournament and the Bethlehem Holiday Classic.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Times Leader Wrestler of the Year: Jimmy Hoffman overcame tough losses all season