Franklin’s Sarah Hoffman was the Daily Journal’s Swimmer of the Year as a senior in 2020.
Daily Journal file photo
Whether or not Kamala Harris does indeed become the next president of the United States, Sarah Hoffman will always be able to say that she got to rub elbows with her in the White House during one of the most politically chaotic weeks of our lifetime.
Such are the perks of ending your collegiate career with a national championship.
Hoffman, a Franklin graduate who was the Daily Journal’s girls swimmer of the year in 2020, finished out her final season at Kenyon College by helping the Owl women win their record 25th NCAA Division III national championship in March. She earned second team All-America honors after finishing 16th in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Kenyon also won a national title in 2022, when Hoffman was a second team All-American as a sophomore. The former Grizzly Cub was a first team All-American in 2023 after finishing seventh in the 500 freestyle, 10th in the mile and 15th in the 400 individual medley.
Being able to go out on top with her teammates was the cherry on top of a very sweet run.
“I think the four-year experience was probably the best choice I ever made in my life,” Hoffman said. “Not only have I never been happier swimming, but I got to spend a lot of time with a lot of time with a lot of great people and I miss them all a lot. It was amazing.”
Hoffman has been pretty busy since. After graduating in May with a major in chemistry and a minor in art history, she traveled to Colorado in early June for the wedding of former Franklin teammate Bella Ratzlaff. Armed with only a backpack, Hoffman left straight from there and moved to New York City, where she works as a lab analyst doing clinical trials at a cancer research hospital.
After growing up and attending college in the Midwest, Hoffman says she wanted to experience life on the East Coast — but it has been a bit of an adjustment.
“It’s been a cool learning experience,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. But New York’s a lot; it’s very stressful, but it’s fun.”
This week, Hoffman got to take a little bit of a break from that stress, venturing to Washington, D.C. with her former Kenyon teammates for a White House reception honoring 52 different NCAA championship teams.
The Owls toured the White House and the Capitol, and Harris — who is in the process of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee after current president Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is no longer seeking re-election — addressed the group.
“A lot of press was there,” Hoffman said, “which was crazy to see. … It was just cool to be there.”
Whether it’s Franklin, Kenyon, New York or D.C., Hoffman has a way of fitting in — which doesn’t surprise her high school coach one bit.
“Sarah’s the coolest kid I’ve ever coached, boy or girl,” Franklin swim coach Zach DeWitt said. “She is one of the funniest people I’ve ever known, and she was like this since she was 12. She has the most unique perspective on life. Kind of a sick sense of humor that is on brand for me. … Her greatest quality is genuinely, she is comfortable being uncomfortable, and that allows her to work hard and be successful. It allows her humor to flourish. She kind of embraces the uncomfortable in life.”
Many people would find Hoffman’s whirlwind summer existence to be somewhat uncomfortable; not her. The former distance swimmer is enjoying living at a faster pace these days — so much so that she’s planning to stay out east and experience city life for the foreseeable future.
“I just enjoy it,” she said. “There’s a lot of energy here, and I really like that right now. Probably when I’m old, though, I won’t like it, but currently it’s really enjoyable.”
It certainly ain’t boring.
