The women’s track and field program has always been competitive in the Middle Atlantic Conference and Landmark Conference. The Blue Jays placed in the top three for the 14th straight year after taking second at the 2017 Landmark Outdoor Championships.
Joel Hoffsmith, in his fifth year as the head coach of the women’s program, saw his ladies produce 17 All-MAC performances that resulted in ten medals. Four of the ten were golds, two from Jenna Niedermayer ’13 and Traci Tempone ’14 each.
Niedermayer and Tempone both qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships. Niedermayer competed in both the long jump and triple jump, while Tempone’s 5,000m was her lone race at North Central College, the host of the national championships.
Responsible for coaching Niedermayer in her field events, Hoffsmith saw his star field athlete become the first All-American during his tenure as head of the program. Niedermayer took 14th in the long jump, but came back in the triple to take eighth after coming into the event with a pre-meet ranking of 15th. Her jump of 37’9-1/4” (11.51m) earned her All-America honors, the first of her career. Tempone ran 18:02.86 in her 5,000m to place 14th.
Despite all the individual success the women’s program has seen over the years, they were still in search of their first-ever outdoor MAC title going into 2013. With a core group of seniors set to graduate, whom had twice finished second in 2010 and 2011, the stage was set for history to be made.
The tone was established on the first night of the Outdoor MAC Championships, and it carried through the rest of the three-day meet as E-town led after each day. 24 All-MAC performances and 15 medals later, the women’s track and field program had finally won the coveted team title for the first time in 14 years. In doing so, their eight gold medals set a new outdoor program record. The following year, the Blue Jays made it back-to-back conference titles.
Represented for a fourth straight time at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships, Hoffsmith accompanied three of his athletes, one on the track, one in the field, and one in the throws. Tempone qualified for her third outdoor national meet in the 5,000m, Niedermayer was back for a second straight trip in the triple jump, and sophomore transfer Casey Meier ’15 was entered in the javelin competition. Niedermayer was the team’s top finisher, taking 11th in triple. Meier placed 14th in the javelin, a spot better than her pre-meet rank. Tempone took 20th in the 5,000m.
Between the 2013 indoor and outdoor season, 13 different school records were set, some multiple times. To cap off Hoffsmith’s successful 2012-2013 campaign, he was tabbed USTFCCCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year, the first such honor of his illustrious coaching career.
The women's team broke through in 2017 to become the first team other than Moravian to win a Landmark Championship in track and field at the indoor championship meet. Hoffsmith's team produced 17 all-conference performances, including five gold medals. Kelsey Brady '18 was named the Landmark Track Athlete of the Year for the second time, after having received the honor at the Outdoor Championships in 2017. Brady was also the conference's Track Rookie of the Year in 2015.
Winning the 2017 Landmark Conference Indoor Championship led Hoffsmith and his staff to be named the Coaching Staff of the Year.
Hoffsmith's collegiate coaching experience dates back to 1978. It was that year that he became head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Lebanon Valley College. After coaching the Dutchmen from 1978-82, Hoffsmith became an assistant at East Stroudsburg University while pursuing his master's degree in physical education.
After a two-year stint as head men's cross country and assistant track and field coach at Shippensburg University (1984-85), Hoffsmith returned to his alma mater of Millersville University where he was head men's cross country and track and field coach from 1985-92.
Hoffsmith then went back to Lebanon Valley from 1994-2000 as assistant track and field coach, while also serving as head women's cross country coach from 1997-99.
No stranger to Elizabethtown, Hoffsmith spent eight seasons as an assistant coach, beginning in 2000. He served in that role until the start of the 2008-09 season, when he was elevated to head women’s track and field coach.
In addition to his college coaching, Hoffsmith has coached at the scholastic level. He’s spent time at Annville-Cleona, Hershey and Susquehanna Township High Schools.
During his career at the collegiate level, Hoffsmith has coached 29 All-Americans in 13 different events - 22 in Division III and seven in Division II, as well as one national champion.
Hoffsmith is a 1976 graduate of Millersville, where he was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion in the 800 meters in 1975 and was an All-American.
