Head Coach Tim Flynn

TIM FLYNN

FIFTH SEASON • PENN STATE, 1987

Tim Flynn enters his fifth season at the helm after being named the ninth head coach of the West Virginia University wrestling program in April of 2018 Under his guidance, West Virginia has seen 13 Mountaineers qualify for the NCAA Division i Wrestling Championships and three earn All-America status WVU has enjoyed great success off the mat as well, earning 41 Academic All-Big 12 and seven nWCA Scholar All-America honors in 2022, West Virginia claimed four nCAA qualifiers for the second straight season, in addition to its third Big 12 Champion and third All-American in as many years The team eclipsed its record for most wrestlers on the Academic All-Big 12 team with nine, including a record-breaking seven on the first team.

The Mountaineers scored 62 points to place seventh in the Big 12 Championship, while landing seven wrestlers on the podium to match a program-best set by the 2015-16 squad. Redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125) and sophomore Peyton Hall (165) became the first Mountaineer duo to reach the Big 12 finals in their respective weight classes since Zeke Moisey (125) and Jake Smith (197) in 2018 Top-seeded Cardinale recorded an 8-3 decision over 2021 Big 12 Champion and third-seeded Brody Teske (northern iowa) to become just the third Mountaineer to reach the top of the Big 12 Conference since West Virginia joined the conference in 2012 Success continued as Cardinale and Hall reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit. Both finished in the top 12, while Hall secured his spot on the podium as an All-American after scoring an 11-3 major decision over no 19-seed Justin McCoy of Virginia The Chester, West Virginia, became the sixth WVU wrestler to be named an All-American as a representative of their home state and the first since Noah Adams in 2020. In addition, Hall became the first WVU grappler to take home the All-American honor at 165 pounds since the weight classes realigned in 1999 in 2021, Flynn guided the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record for their first winning season since 2014 and a 31st-place finish at the nCAA Championships to close out the abbreviated campaign He coached Cardinale to All-American status at 125 pounds, as the Old Dominion transfer became the second All-American during Flynn’s tenure, with noah Adams earning the honor at 197 pounds in 2020 The Bristow, Virginia, native was also the first to earn the honor at 125 pounds since Zeke Moisey in 2018 WVU placed 10th at the 2020 Big 12 Championship before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah Adams capped off his undefeated 32-0 season by earning the 197-pound title at the Big 12 Conference Tournament Adams, a two-time NCAA qualifier, was the nation’s second-seeded wrestler heading into the nCAA Tournament The 197-pound grappler earned All-America First Team and Scholar All-American honors from the national Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), becoming WVU’s first All-American since 2018 For his performance, the Coal City, West Virginia, native received the 2020 Hardman award, an honor given by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association to West Virginia’s top amateur athlete Adams was named the Most outstanding Wrestler at the prestigious Southern Scuffle after going 5-0 and winning the 197-pound bracket. He also became the first wrestler in program history to be named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year and the second to be picked as a finalist for the Dan Hodge Trophy, college wrestling’s equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy

In his first season at the helm, Flynn led the program to a four-win dual season in the 2018-19 season, highlighted by a 19-17 victory over No. 20 North Dakota State at the South Beach Duals on Dec. 30, 2018. The squad finished with five wrestlers on the podium and a ninth overall finish at the 2019 Big 12 Championships, allowing West Virginia to send five grapplers to nationals for the first time since 2014.

WVU also produced five podium finishers at the conference tournament and sent five wrestlers to the nCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Four Mountaineers earned automatic bids, while one grappler received an at-large selection to punch his ticket. Adams was one of the five wrestlers to make an appearance, competing on the national stage for the first time in his career. Flynn came to West Virginia from Edinboro, where he spent 21 years building the Fighting Scots into a wrestling powerhouse He compiled a 223-95-5 career record to become the school’s all-time winningest coach and a member of its Hall of Fame His accomplishments at Edinboro totaled 150 national qualifiers, 38 All-Americans, 64 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champions and 97 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champions He led the Fighting Scots to five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Tournament, 14 top-20 finishes and 18 top25 finishes. Flynn engineered two of the best seasons in Edinboro wrestling history, with his 2014-15 squad placing third at nationals – the program’s highest-ever finish – and earning four All-America honors. His 2013-14 squad went 11-3 and won 10 of their last 11 duals on their way to a fifth-place finish at the national tournament, led by three wrestlers earning All-American honors at season’s end He received NWCA NCAA Division I Coach of the Year honors, shared interMat Coach of the Year honors with Minnesota’s J Robinson and was selected as WIN’s Dan Gable Coach of the Year He was the EWL Coach of the Year seven times and the PSAC Coach of the Year 13 times Flynn also coached three national champions (John Koscheck at 174 in 2001, gregor gillespie at 149 in 2007 and Jarrod King at 165 in 2009) and eight nCAA runners-up Under the former Penn State All-American, Edinboro dominated eastern wrestling circles, winning the EWL Championships 15 times, including eight straight from 2003-10, along with 16 PSAC tournament titles in his 21 campaigns At one point, Edinboro won 34 of 35 EWL dual matches, which included a 29-match winning streak Before taking over the head coaching duties, Flynn was an assistant at Edinboro under legendary coach and olympian Bruce Baumgartner from 199297 Flynn assisted Baumgartner to a 56-21 record, including a 14-0 dual-match mark and a sixth-place finish at the 1996 nCAA Tournament Following three standout seasons at Vista High in Vista, California, Flynn moved east to finish his prep career at Annapolis Senior High in Annapolis, Maryland He went on to enjoy a stellar career at Penn State, captaining the 1986-87 squad, while earning All-America honors at 134 pounds He went 30-10-1 as a senior, winning the EWL title and finishing seventh at nationals The nittany Lions enjoyed one of their greatest seasons ever with an 18-1-1 record and a third-place finish at the nCAA Tournament Flynn finished with a 105-32-2 collegiate record, still ranking among the all-time career leaders in victories at Penn State He also won the EWL 126-pound title as a junior in 1986, finishing with a 30-7-1 mark, and qualified for nationals as a sophomore after finishing second at the EWL Championships. He was a four-time Midlands Championships place winner, a two-time Mat-Town USA champion and was an Espoir national freestyle runner-up in 1984 For all his efforts as a coach and wrestler in the Keystone State, Flynn was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association (PWCA) Hall of Fame on oct 7, 2021 Flynn, who is currently a member of the nWCA Leadership group, graduated from Penn State in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in business management He later earned his master’s degree in business administration from Penn State with a concentration in finance in 1990. He and his wife, Tanya, have two children - Logan and Riley