Fairless High School didn’t have a wrestling program until John Groff’s senior year.
After he had gone through conditioning, the coach told Groff he was going with underclassmen, so he never got the chance to compete.
How ironic, then, that Groff was one of the longest-tenured and most successful coaches in the history of Ohio high school wrestling.
Groff spent 36 years as the head wrestling coach at Sandy Valley High School and his years of dedication to the sport will be recognized beginning this week. The Class of 2024 Ohio High School Wrestling Coach Hall of Fame inductee will be honored by Sandy Valley Wednesday prior to the Cardinals Senior Night wrestling match and will once again be recognized Friday, Feb. 9 as he will be given his plaque at halftime of the JV/Varsity boys basketball game.
Groff posted a 367-174-3 record at Sandy Valley and coached Malvern from 1973-1976, going 30-5.
He was named the Inter-Valley Conference Coach of the Year seven times and the PAC-7 Coach of the Year four times.
Groff was also the Stark County Coaches Association Coach of the Year twice and entered its Hall of Fame in 2013.
All told he coached 92 conference champions, 37 Sectional champions, 206 District qualifiers, seven District champions, 42 State qualifiers and nine State placers inhis career.
More importantly, he helped shape the lives of so many young people on and off the mat.
After graduating from Fairless, Groff went on to compile a 42-3-1 record on the Baldwin-Wallace University wrestling mats. He also helped the Yellow Jackets football team to a combined 17-3 record in his junior and senior seasons.
Groff’s overall athletic excellence also landed him in the Baldwin-Wallace Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989.
Phone: 330-343-8615
Address: 525 West High Avenue, Suite 160, New Philadelphia
Email: cjones1973@roadrunner.com
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