Flynn Adds All-American to His List of Honors

Three years removed from winning his second and last state wrestling championship for Huntington High School, Pat Flynn isn’t finished on the mat quite yet.  The gifted grappler snatched Junior College All-American honors last weekend, placing fifth at 133 lbs. in the national tournament in Rochester, Minnesota.

Flynn, who won three Suffolk titles and a pair of state crowns under Blue Devil coach Lou Giani, originally attended Hofstra, where he qualified for the 2003 NCAA Division I Championships.  He transferred to Nassau last year and now hopes to transfer again to a major college.

Last weekend at the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships, Flynn opened the competition with a 21-8 major decision and then rolled to a pin in 4:21 before dropping an 8-5 quarterfinal round decision.  He battled his way back through the consolation rounds with a 12-5 decision and 10-2 major decision, before losing again.  He then took a 14-5 major decision over Cody Nicholson of powerful runner-up team North Idaho to finish fifth and earn All-American honors.

“Pat’s a very hard worker – one of the hardest,” Giani said.  “It doesn’t surprise me that he’s an All-American because he pays the price.  It’s something that is important to him and the results show it.  He certainly did a lot for our program here in Huntington.”

At Huntington, Flynn was nothing short of brilliant.  His three-year record at the school was 106-1, with the only blemish coming in the state finals his junior year when he lost to the state tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler Award winner. He was named the team’s MVP all three years and twice compiled undefeated and untied seasons, something only 11 other Blue Devil wrestlers have ever done.