Two-time All-American Ricky Flynn could be the poster boy for what an NCAA Division III student-athlete is supposed to be.
A dedicated distance runner and member of the Hornet cross country and track and field teams, Ricky has balanced athletic achievement with an equal commitment to success in the classroom.
His athletic bio is impressive. In mid-March at the 2009 Indoor Track and Field Division III National Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., Ricky earned All-American honors by placing fifth in the 5,000 meters. Ricky ran a time of 14:35.87 in the meet's longest event, which is 25 laps around the 200-meter track. He won both the 5,000 and mile events at the recent Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championships at Liberty University, helping LC to its 12th-straight team title.
Ricky's performance in indoor competition came on the heels of a superb cross country season. He won the conference meet easily in early November with a time of 24:56, a full 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. After taking third at the South/Southeast Regional, he earned the first All-American award of his career by placing 14th at the National Championships in Hanover, Ind.
"Ricky is one of the most dedicated distance runners I have ever coached," said Lynchburg athletic director Dr. Jack Toms, also the school's head men's cross country and track and field coach. "He focuses not only on his training but also on the other things that make a great athlete. He is very careful with his nutrition, sleep, and is totally focused. He has goals that he wants to achieve before he graduates and he knows that he must be totally committed to accomplish them."
Part of his motivation to attend Lynchburg College was the opportunity to train and compete with older brother, Brian Flynn '05, a fellow distance running standout and multiple-time ODAC Champion.
"We have a great relationship, and there has always been a friendly rivalry," Ricky said. "We ran together in outdoor track when I was a freshman at Lynchburg, and back then he would beat me easily every time. Now that we are both close to our primes, I think we both know I have one up on him." Brian is now serving as an assistant coach at Coe College, a Division III school in Iowa.
Ricky's academic accomplishments aren't shabby either. A business management major with a minor in criminology, Ricky boasts a 3.54 cumulative grade-point average. He has been honored on the LC Scholar-Athlete and Dean's List multiple times, and this year he was recognized as an Academic All-American by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association for the second-straight year. A native of Gaithersburg, Md., he worked as an intern this summer for a business firm in Baltimore.
"I know as a Division III runner that it is not all about cross country and track," Flynn said. "Academics are very important to me. My Lynchburg College education will help determine my future career and life."
An example of Flynn's toughness and desire to succeed came in the fall of 2007, when a separated shoulder threatened to force him out of the regional competition for cross country.
"He didn't discover that he was cleared for competition until the night before the meet - and only if he could tolerate the pain," said Dr. Toms. "The next day he was warming up before the race, and I still could not believe he wanted to run that much. I knew he was in pain."
Despite the injury, Ricky gutted out an eighth-place finish and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
"That race was when it really stood out to me that Ricky is a truly unique competitor," said head women's cross country and assistant track and field coach Jesse Baumann. "He took about a week and a half off, then tried a few days of running on the track, which is nothing like dealing with the jarring he'd feel in his shoulder on the hills and uneven course. The first time he ran off the track was the day of the race, he could only freely swing one arm since it was locked in a sling, and he did all he could to hang on for the five miles. Coach Toms had numerous coaches throughout the region come up to him and comment on how amazed they were by what he had just accomplished."
Ricky is just a junior athletically, although he is on pace to graduate this spring. He plans to return to LC to pursue his MBA, and will be eligible to compete in cross country and track next year. With the 2009 outdoor track season already under way and a full year ahead, what is left for him to accomplish?
"I've been an All-American twice in my career, and I don't want to stop," Ricky said. "It is very addicting! I think I can compete at the national meet in two different events this spring. If I can stay healthy and keep improving my times, we'll see what happens."
It wouldn't be smart to bet against him.