Photo by: Alex King
Flynn Excited About Mountaineer Wrestling’s Future
May 06, 2020 04:24 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Tim Flynn finally sees some light at the end of the tunnel for his West Virginia University wrestling program.
It's been mostly darkness for the last six years, particularly when it comes to the Mountaineers' dual-meet performances. West Virginia has not had a winning dual season since 2014, which was two head coaches ago when Craig Turnbull was still running the program.
Flynn arrived in 2019 after a highly successful run at Edinboro that saw his teams regularly place in the top 20 at NCAAs with a number of national title contenders.
The rebuilding job he stepped into here at West Virginia was far greater than he initially anticipated from the perspective of an outsider.
"I was at one place for so long and people talk about culture … the kids know what is expected of them, they know your system, they're going to class and doing the right things off the mat," Flynn said earlier today via video conference. "I probably underestimated how hard it would be to kind of get a winning culture in place (here), and I think we have it now."
Flynn had to sit through a couple of four-win dual seasons that he admits were difficult to watch. His mood brightened somewhat at the end of the year when sophomore Noah Adams made his run to win the 197-pound title at Big 12 Championships to cap an undefeated regular season.
Adams was the nation's second-seeded wrestler heading into the NCAA Tournament when the season was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"I'm a competitor, and I want to win," Flynn explained. "As much as I want to produce great young men and have people graduate and get jobs, I came to West Virginia because I want to win, and I want to win at a high level so it was really hard.
"The one nice thing about having an individual combined with a team sport is when your team is not doing great it's nice having Noah doing pretty well, and we had some pretty big wins out of some other guys individually," he added.
Adams has become the Jevon Carter of the WVU wrestling program, a guy around whom Flynn can base his rebuilding program.
Adams was recently named Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, NWCA All-American and captured the Shorty Hardman Award as the state's amateur athlete of the year.
There was a very good chance the Coal City, West Virginia, resident could have gone through the entire season undefeated and been standing at the top of the podium at NCAAs until the season was canceled. The last WVU wrestler to have that type of success was a guy named Greg Jones.
"If Noah Adams doesn't win another wrestling match he's already kind of kick-started our program with the season he's had," Flynn explained. "Recruits look and say, 'Hey, I can win at a high level there.' From that standpoint he's been huge with recruiting, and I think he will also bring in more fans.
"He's also developing into a leader, and he's going to be great for this next recruiting class and the next two we've got lined up," Flynn said.
Flynn is really excited about the group he's bringing in this year, ranked 12th in the country by Flo Wrestling and 16th by Open Mat.
The headliners are a pair of West Virginia wrestlers in Oak Glen's Peyton Hall and Parkersburg South's Braydon Roberts, both 157-pounders.
Hall, a four-time state champion, is ranked as the 31st-best wrestler in the country. Roberts is also a top-50 talent with three state titles under his belt.
Flynn returned to his old stomping grounds in the Keystone State to land St. Joseph's Catholic Academy's Caleb Dowling, a projected 149-pounder rated No. 71 in the country, and he also recently signed 184-pounder Anthony D'Alesio from Canfield, Ohio, the nation's No. 83-rated wrestler.
Also part of this year's class is Old Dominion 125-pounder Killian Cardinale, a 2020 NCAA qualifier who signed with West Virginia after ODU dropped its wrestling program.
Jack Blumer, a 165-pounder, had 101 pins and 150 wins during his four-year prep career at Kiski Area Prep and could be one of the sleepers in this year's class.
All six are going to make Flynn's wrestling room far more competitive when students are permitted to return to campus.
"We're ecstatic," Flynn said of this year's recruiting class. "We got some great wrestlers, but they're also good students, good kids and hard workers. Really, in any sport, those are the things you are looking for – talent, academics and what kind of person are they? I think we really did a good job of doing our due diligence in finding out about these kids."
Flynn said there appears to be some more good younger wrestlers on the horizon in West Virginia, which bodes well for his program in the future.
"There are always good kids," he said. "I think Lehigh had a kid from Parkersburg (Louden Haga) who was seeded pretty high at nationals. We had a West Virginia kid (Adams) and two years ago there was a West Virginia kid in the NCAA finals from Virginia Tech (Jared Haught).
"Between the kids we got, the one kid from Parkersburg who went to Wisconsin (Braxton Amos), there were four kids who were top five or so in their weight class in the country from West Virginia," Flynn added. "There are good, high-end kids, but I think the difference in this state, and it's probably true in all sports, is just the overall depth.
"There are good kids coming up, and we're going to try and get them all," Flynn said.
When that happens, look for West Virginia's dual-meet performances to take off.
"We just need more talent – we need more Noahs. Every sport is different, but it's the same in that there are no wands," Flynn said while holding up his two hands. "I'm not a magician. In Noah, we're talking about someone who is pretty good and trying to make him great.
"It's hard to take someone who is less talented and take them up to the national level, or to even win the Big 12 in wrestling. It takes a long time and what we need is more talent, and it looks like we're finally getting some," he concluded.
It's been mostly darkness for the last six years, particularly when it comes to the Mountaineers' dual-meet performances. West Virginia has not had a winning dual season since 2014, which was two head coaches ago when Craig Turnbull was still running the program.
Flynn arrived in 2019 after a highly successful run at Edinboro that saw his teams regularly place in the top 20 at NCAAs with a number of national title contenders.
The rebuilding job he stepped into here at West Virginia was far greater than he initially anticipated from the perspective of an outsider.
"I was at one place for so long and people talk about culture … the kids know what is expected of them, they know your system, they're going to class and doing the right things off the mat," Flynn said earlier today via video conference. "I probably underestimated how hard it would be to kind of get a winning culture in place (here), and I think we have it now."
Flynn had to sit through a couple of four-win dual seasons that he admits were difficult to watch. His mood brightened somewhat at the end of the year when sophomore Noah Adams made his run to win the 197-pound title at Big 12 Championships to cap an undefeated regular season.
Adams was the nation's second-seeded wrestler heading into the NCAA Tournament when the season was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"I'm a competitor, and I want to win," Flynn explained. "As much as I want to produce great young men and have people graduate and get jobs, I came to West Virginia because I want to win, and I want to win at a high level so it was really hard.
"The one nice thing about having an individual combined with a team sport is when your team is not doing great it's nice having Noah doing pretty well, and we had some pretty big wins out of some other guys individually," he added.
Adams has become the Jevon Carter of the WVU wrestling program, a guy around whom Flynn can base his rebuilding program.Adams was recently named Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, NWCA All-American and captured the Shorty Hardman Award as the state's amateur athlete of the year.
There was a very good chance the Coal City, West Virginia, resident could have gone through the entire season undefeated and been standing at the top of the podium at NCAAs until the season was canceled. The last WVU wrestler to have that type of success was a guy named Greg Jones.
"If Noah Adams doesn't win another wrestling match he's already kind of kick-started our program with the season he's had," Flynn explained. "Recruits look and say, 'Hey, I can win at a high level there.' From that standpoint he's been huge with recruiting, and I think he will also bring in more fans.
"He's also developing into a leader, and he's going to be great for this next recruiting class and the next two we've got lined up," Flynn said.
Flynn is really excited about the group he's bringing in this year, ranked 12th in the country by Flo Wrestling and 16th by Open Mat.
The headliners are a pair of West Virginia wrestlers in Oak Glen's Peyton Hall and Parkersburg South's Braydon Roberts, both 157-pounders.
Hall, a four-time state champion, is ranked as the 31st-best wrestler in the country. Roberts is also a top-50 talent with three state titles under his belt.
Flynn returned to his old stomping grounds in the Keystone State to land St. Joseph's Catholic Academy's Caleb Dowling, a projected 149-pounder rated No. 71 in the country, and he also recently signed 184-pounder Anthony D'Alesio from Canfield, Ohio, the nation's No. 83-rated wrestler.
Also part of this year's class is Old Dominion 125-pounder Killian Cardinale, a 2020 NCAA qualifier who signed with West Virginia after ODU dropped its wrestling program.
Jack Blumer, a 165-pounder, had 101 pins and 150 wins during his four-year prep career at Kiski Area Prep and could be one of the sleepers in this year's class.
All six are going to make Flynn's wrestling room far more competitive when students are permitted to return to campus.
"We're ecstatic," Flynn said of this year's recruiting class. "We got some great wrestlers, but they're also good students, good kids and hard workers. Really, in any sport, those are the things you are looking for – talent, academics and what kind of person are they? I think we really did a good job of doing our due diligence in finding out about these kids."
Flynn said there appears to be some more good younger wrestlers on the horizon in West Virginia, which bodes well for his program in the future.
"There are always good kids," he said. "I think Lehigh had a kid from Parkersburg (Louden Haga) who was seeded pretty high at nationals. We had a West Virginia kid (Adams) and two years ago there was a West Virginia kid in the NCAA finals from Virginia Tech (Jared Haught).
"Between the kids we got, the one kid from Parkersburg who went to Wisconsin (Braxton Amos), there were four kids who were top five or so in their weight class in the country from West Virginia," Flynn added. "There are good, high-end kids, but I think the difference in this state, and it's probably true in all sports, is just the overall depth.
"There are good kids coming up, and we're going to try and get them all," Flynn said.
When that happens, look for West Virginia's dual-meet performances to take off.
"We just need more talent – we need more Noahs. Every sport is different, but it's the same in that there are no wands," Flynn said while holding up his two hands. "I'm not a magician. In Noah, we're talking about someone who is pretty good and trying to make him great.
"It's hard to take someone who is less talented and take them up to the national level, or to even win the Big 12 in wrestling. It takes a long time and what we need is more talent, and it looks like we're finally getting some," he concluded.
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
You Can Never Have Too Many Headlocks
Wednesday, April 01
WRES: NCAA Championships Hype Video
Wednesday, March 18
2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Hype
Thursday, March 05
WRES: 2026 Senior Recognition Ceremony
Tuesday, February 10
