Ryan Flores, Columbia/American '12 hails from Clovis, CA where he was the first 2x State Champion for Floyd B. Buchanan High School in 2006 and 2007. He would captain the team for three years and was 4x All-State/All-Valley/All-Conference. To this day, he still holds the school records for most career wins at 196, most falls in a season at 43, and most career falls at 140.
After high school, Ryan wrestled at Columbia University for two years where he was an EIWA runner-up in 2008 and the champion in 2009; Columbia's first since 1995. He finished that sophomore season with an overall 31-5 record and a perfect 18-0 record in dual meet action. After a one-year hiatus from school, during which time he lived and trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Flores transferred to American University and won two more EIWA titles for the Eagles as well as All-American honors in 2011 and 2012, finishing as high as second place.
His senior campaign found him posting a 21-3 record with 17 falls; that in addition to his overall 27 career falls are the second most in AU program history. He would also hold the No. 1 rank in the country for 16 straight weeks, earn the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships, and be only the second wrestler in AU history to make the NCAA finals. Flores finished his collegiate career with an overall record of 92-21 with 48 falls, his fastest coming in a time of 24 seconds, and was a 2x Academic All-American. The first member of his family to attend college, Ryan graduated in 2012 with a degree in psychology.
Flores now resides back in his hometown of Clovis with his wife Emily and their daughter. He is a municipal Firefighter-Paramedic who also serves on the HazMat and Arson Investigation teams with pride.
