When he was coming up in the wrestling ranks, Cooper Flynn would routinely make his way down to Chattanooga.
The lure for Flynn, a native of Seymour, Tennessee, was the chance to train with University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Kyle Ruschell and the Mocs.
Flynn’s talent has taken him to a number of places over the years: After wrestling for McDonogh High School in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, he spent his first three college seasons from 2021-23 at Virginia Tech and another at Minnesota, qualifying for the NCAA tournament once each with the Hokies and the Golden Gophers. But with one year of eligibility remaining and a desire to be closer to home, Flynn decided to make the call to Ruschell and see if UTC had a spot at 125 pounds — which, considering just who was asking, the program did.
“I wanted to really enjoy my last year and have friends and family around me,” Flynn said. “It’s been such a great decision, with my parents getting to come (to home matches), and grandparents, old coaches, everyone getting to make it down here. It’s an easy drive, so it’s been awesome having everyone around for my last year.”
It has proven to be a good partnership, and now the Mocs are on the cusp of the program’s first Southern Conference tournament championship since 2015 but 30th of all time. The event — a bracketed traditional tournament in which wrestlers compete in 10 weight classes, chasing individual titles while earning points for their school in the team championship standings — is Friday and Saturday at UNC Asheville’s Kimmel Arena.