Meet Bella Hoffman: Fort Mill’s first girls’ wrestling state champion
Sophomore Bella Hoffman seems to be a quiet teen, but take her near a wrestling mat, and that changes.
Hoffman recently made history on Jan. 25, becoming the first female wrestler at Fort Mill High School to win a state title, as she captured the 120-pound title at the 2020 Carolina Invitational in Lexington. Hoffman has been wrestling for the varsity squad at Fort Mill for the past two seasons and is the only female on the roster.
Having to go up against other wrestlers in her weight class — all males — has made Hoffman a better and stronger wrestler, said Fort Mill head coach Chris Brock.
“We have had a few girls try it and others are welcomed to, but they have to be able to cut it like most of the guys,” Brock said. “She goes step for step with these guys. Bella has been a bonus and asset to this program.”
Wrestling boys prepared Hoffman for going into the Carolina Invitational at Lexington High School, where she didn’t have any trouble crushing the competition for a state title: Hoffman went 3-0 in the tournament and pinned every one of her opponents.
She won Most Outstanding Wrestler for the entire tournament.
“The girl I wrestled in the finals beat me in the eighth grade,” Hoffman said. “I didn’t remember that or it would have made me nervous.”
Having to wrestle guys during practice and at other duals has build Hoffman’s confidence up, Hoffman said. She didn’t want to brag about how well she did at the Carolina Invitational, but she said she was confident going into the tournament.
Hoffman started wrestling while living in Clover. She moved to Fort Mill and wrestled at Pleasant Knoll Middle School as an eighth grader. In the past, Hoffman was a cheerleader and looked at other sports, but she said nothing was working out for her in those attempts.
“I can’t dribble a basketball,” she said. “I can’t hit a volleyball. I attempted softball and that wasn’t happening. I don’t like dirt that much apparently.
“I stepped on the mat, and I fell in love with it.”
Hoffman wrestles throughout the country and is being pursued by several colleges to wrestle in their programs, Brock said. Hoffman said she has been to several college camps and is very much interested in wrestling in college — where she would be competing against other females, not males.
There are more than 30 colleges in the country that offer female wrestling, including Presbyterian College in Clinton and Limestone College in Gaffney.
Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 11:16 AM.