MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first NCAA wrestling rankings of the season have been released, and not surprisingly, heading into tonight’s 7 p.m. Senior Night matchup with South Dakota State at the WVU Coliseum, the Mountaineers weren’t in the top 25.
WVU (3-8) coach Tim Flynn is still pretty pleased, though. Not with his team’s dual match record, of course — there’s not a coach alive that would be especially happy with that record. There are more ways than merely looking at win-loss numbers to evaluate a team. Digging deeper, WVU’s second-year head coach has observed boatloads of progress.
For instance, WVU has three wrestlers currently ranked in the Top 33 in their weight class: Nick Kiussis at 165 is 10-7 and ranked No. 31, Brandon Ngati at 285 is 15-9 and No. 28 and Noah Adams at 197 is 24-0 and No. 2 in the nation.
While these obvious standouts have been excelling all year, Flynn insists that there are plenty of signs of significant progress throughout his lineup, signs that a coach might be able to see more clearly than statistics will show.
Flynn ought to know a thing or two about evaluating a wrestling team. He was recently named a member of the Class of 2020 for the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“I thought you had to be a retired guy to get into a Hall of Fame,” he said. “Heck, I have a lot more work to do. Actually, it was a big surprise to me that I would even be considered, so to be elected is quite an honor. It means you’ve had good kids and good teams, and that you’ve been doing the right things, and I think it gives you a certain pride in your work. I’m grateful.”
So which wrestlers may be flying a bit under the radar, yet are putting together a solid season so far?
“Well, really our whole lineup has worked very hard and stayed positive and motivated all year, and we continue to improve. I think Joe Thomas (125) has wrestled very well this year, as has Caleb Rea (141). Alex Hornfeck (157) is a redshirt freshman who has held his own against a number of highly-ranked opponents this season, and he’s the kind of kid who could surprise some folks down the stretch. Same with Jackson Moomau (184). He probably could’ve used a redshirt last year, and experienced some hard learning as a result, but he’s grown a lot this year and is really coming on.”
When asked if the program-wide improvement is related to specific coaching techniques or more to physical or mental maturity, Flynn’s answer was the same for every wrestler on his team.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s all of those things. We really focus on providing a positive environment, and developing a ‘stay the course’ attitude. Whether we win or lose, we analyze what happened, then we put our hard hats on and get back to work. It’s a sports cliche I know, but we truly just focus on the next match. It’s less stressful, breaks up the season into more manageable chunks and keeps the focus on the present.”
The present, while important, is actually more of a dress rehearsal in a sport like wrestling, since all wrestlers qualify for conference tournaments, and those who are successful there — regardless of overall record — can qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“It’s really kind of like taking your midterm exam one week before the end of the term, and your final exam the last day,” Flynn explained. “Everything we do all year is designed to prepare to wrestle well in the Big 12 Championships. If you win there, you go to the NCAAs, and if you win there, you’re the national champion. That’s why there’s always a reason to keep working hard, staying positive — there’s always a chance to get hot at the right time.
“Of course we aren’t satisfied with taking our lumps as a team in matches. We want to win every match. Winning becomes a habit, and there’s no reason why you can’t learn and improve and win matches at the same time. As long as we continue to work hard, continue to improve our chances of winning matches and continue to grow as students, athletes and young men, I’m going to be happy with that progress.”
