Overview
The Chattanooga Mocs have two wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The 3-day road to national honors begins Thursday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. "Mat Madness" is an apt term for the Mocs which sent a senior at 125 in Cooper Flynn and true freshman Kade Rule at 197.
 
This modern day version of the movie "Twins" holds excitement for both parties. Flynn is a 3-time qualifier showing the ropes to his new roommate.
 
Mat Schedule
Thursday: Action goes on all day with opening rounds beginning at Noon followed by the main draw sweet 16 at 7 p.m. The consolations also start in the evening session.
 
Friday: Survival day starts at Noon with quarterfinals and consolations. The evening session begins at 8 p.m., with the final four in each bracket as well as wrestle-backs. At the end of this night, every wrestler still standing earns a place on their respective podiums on Saturday.
 
Saturday: Championship Saturday starts at 11 a.m., with places 3-8 decided in every weight class. National Champions are determined in the evening beginning at 6:30 p.m.
 
Resources: Tournament Central | Brackets | Notes | Stats | Roster 
 
Quotable
"I tell the guys, no matter what tournament we're in, something unexpected is gonna happen. Whether it's you causing it or somebody else, don't worry about the whole tournament, worry about the guy right in front of you. I always told myself; I can beat anybody in seven minutes if I wrestle my match. Don't think that to win a national title I have to be good for 35 minutes. It's not true. You just need to wrestle the guy in front of you and the position that you're in, and then good things happen. Take the pressure off the whole tournament. You don't know who you're wrestling other than the guy that's right in front of you. So go out there, wrestle hard and get into your positions." – 2-time All-American & Mocs Head Coach Kyle Ruschell on what it takes to get to Saturday
 
"Growing up, it's the one event that you look forward to wrestling in and it's without a doubt, every year, the coolest experience. Wrestling in front of that many people and just the atmosphere...it's awesome. I'm super grateful to be going back for my last year and just looking forward to competing one last time for my college career and having fun." – Flynn on returning for a third time
 
"The beginning of the year was a little bit of a rough start. We all put the work in, and I improved a lot. The late season went pretty well, getting a lot of points and getting into my offense. I'm pretty excited about it. It's going to be pretty fun with Coop. It's my first time, so I think it'll be a pretty good opportunity." – Rule on earning his first national qualification
 
Breakdown

• Flynn is seeded 26th after an 18-4 season. His year took off when the calendar turned to 2026. After a 4-3 start, he won 14 of 15 bouts with the lone loss coming in a decision against 2nd-seeded Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech in the Southern Scuffle semifinals before finishing third.
• Flynn is 10-13 all-time against the field. That includes a 1-1 mark against first round opponent Nico Provo, the seven seed out of Stanford.
• Flynn is 3-4 in his previous two years in the event. He was the 11 seed in 2024 (1-2) and No. 19 last year (2-2).
• Rule enters the event on an 11-match win streak (same as Flynn). He is 18-5 overall with all five losses coming against NCAA Qualifiers.
• 14 of his 18 wins included bonus points with seven majors, six tech falls and one pin.
• Rule is the 30 seed but rated No. 22 in the NCAA RPI.

 
Notes

• Flynn has a fall and two decisions in his NCAA wins. All four losses were by decisions, three by two points or less.
• Rule captured All-SoCon and SoCon Freshman of the Year honors.
• The Mocs have NCAA qualifiers at nine of 10 weight classes this decade. The last 285 was Jared Johnson in 2017.
• Multiple qualifiers for the 29th straight year and 48th of the 49 NCAA trips.
• Flynn & Rule earned auto bids winning SoCon titles at 125 & 197, respectively.
• Last All-American? 2008-Cody Cleveland, 141.
• Last Moc in the blood round? 2018-Bryce Carr, 184.
• Best all-time DI finish? Individual: 2nd-Charlie Heard, 1983. Team: T14-1983 | 29.0 pts-2005.
• Six DII National Champions: 1975: Randy Batten (118) & Turner Jackson (158); 1976: Randy Batten (118), Turner Jackson (158) & David Weeks (177); 1977: Randy Batten (126).
• Last Mocs senior to earn the podium? 133-Matt Keller, 2007.
• No Mocs freshman has claimed a spot on a DI podium.
• Chattanooga had multiple All-Americans on the DI level in 1992 (8th-142, Guy Harris & 158, Howard Langford) and 2005 (5th-141, Michael Keefe & 165, Jon Sioredas).
• The Mocs ranked T20 in the final NWCA Mid-Major poll sharing the spot with Bucknell and Central Michigan. App State and The Citadel were among others receiving votes.

 
Upcoming Schedule
March 19-21: NCAA Championships (Cleveland, Ohio)
 
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