Chase finds the perfect fit

Flink feels right at home playing as a Red Hawk

The sun was as bright as he hoped it would be, the field as green as it had been in his dreams. But as the football slid into his hands, as he felt the laces bite into his palms, Chase Flink knew he was no longer dreaming.

As his foot made contact with the ball, and as he watched it flip end over end for a booming 45-yard punt, Flink was wide awake, and that could mean only one thing - the dream had come true.

“The atmosphere was totally different from high school,” Flink says about his first college game. “We’re in the pandemic world today, and it wasn’t a big crowd, but still having a crowd, hearing the cheers, it was a great experience.”

After waiting over 500 days, an eternity for a young man eager to make his mark, Chase was finally playing in his first college football game.

A lean and wiry 5’10” and 150 pounds, Flink is all shifty speed, and when the ball is in his hands he becomes a blur. That speed has come in handy over the years, with the Stratford High product finding the field as a slot receiver and punter for the NCAA D-III Ripon Red Hawks of the Midwest Conference.

A hard choice to make

Ripon is a small school, and is a small town, with just under a thousand students on its campus. But Flink, who grew up in a small town, and played football for a small school, Ripon feels like home.

“You go with your gut feeling, and go where it feels like home,” Flink says about choosing to be a Red Hawk. “Personally for me, I feel like I’m at home.”

Flinkdidn’tevenknowif hewouldplay football at the next level, and was considering his options after high school, But his time with the Stratford Tigers gained him the attention of college recruiters. The Red Hawks were in on him almost from the start.

“Coach [Ron] Ernst was the biggest one who recruited me, and he had a camp going on, and he highly recommended I come to the camp. At the time I was just wondering if I should worry about going into the workforce,” Flink says.

“After getting a few looks and offers from recruiters, I decided to take that opportunity and showcase what I have.”

Flink figured if the coaches liked what they saw, and had a place for him on the team, then maybe he would rethink his post high school decisions.

It didn’t take long before colleges were pounding on his door. Offers from D-2 schools like Winona and Concordia out of Minnesota came, as did offers to play for in state schools.

Chase listened to what those other schools had to offer, but the Red Hawks were never far from his thoughts. He remembered that early June camp in Ripon in 2019. He remembered how at ease he felt with the coaches and campus. Those early relationships stuck a chord with him.

“Sometimes people want to go out of state and showcase what they have, but being in Wisconsin, and being a Wisconsin boy, it’s just a different feeling when you can play here.”

You’re not in high school

Flink put pen to paper and signed his letter of intent in January of 2020. With that out of the way, he turned his focus to the track and field season.

A powerful sprinter, Flink had competed in the state meet in 2019 as part of the 4x400 relay, and was hoping to do it again.

Then disaster struck in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the world stood still. Everything, even Flink’s fall football season, was put on hold, and then ultimately cancelled.

Chase was saddened to hear there would be no fall season, but he found some silver linings, and used the time to get to grips with a new playbook, and new teammates.

“I was down about it,” he recalls. “We didn’t have an actual season, like putting on pads and playing actual teams, but we had time with other players, and I got to know my teammates, how they play and being able to bond with them and the coaches as well. That was a good experience.”

It was also an eye-opening experience for Flink, who quickly learned he wasn’t in high school anymore. During an inter-team team scrimmage, he beat his defender off the line of scrimmage, but his teammate quickly caught up to him.

“What is surprising to me is the tempo and speed and how much more athletic it is,” Flink explains. “I mean, I went to state in the 4x400, and now I have guys keeping up with me. It ain’t high school where you’re going to outrun people. It ain’t like that.”

Chase drew on his time with Stratford to get through those first weeks of practice. As a Tiger, he had played in back to back state title games, and learned the importance of grit and drive and hard work.

“I think the physicality, and just being physical, was the biggest thing I learned playing for Stratford,” Flink says. “If you want to play at this level, you have to be willing to work for it, and that’s something I learned at Stratford.”

Willing to work

With the lack of a fall season, Chase worked on his game, studied film and spent time in the weight room. He learned to balance his time between school and sports, and was enjoying simply being a college student.

But when he learned that Ripon was going to be playing games in the spring, and that the coaches wanted him to start, Chase was ecstatic.

“I was very excited when I heard we were going get some spring games in,” Flink says. “I love playing football, and ever since playing in high school I wanted to be a college athlete. I was pretty happy, finally getting that game after not having a fall season.”

In his first two college games Flink has played both special teams and on offense. That’s a plethora of plays to learn, while also being a full-time student on campus during the first global pandemic in over a century.

Once again, Chase drew on his time with Stratford, where he earned first team all-conference nods during his upperclassmen years at both punter and wide receiver. When his number was called for both positions, he was ready to rise to the occasion.

In his first college game against Martin Luther College, Flink punted five times, netting over 200 yards for an average of 40 yards a punt.

In his second game, Chase showed his hands and speed, spending time at wide receiver where he caught six passes for 40-yards. It’s a great start, but he takes nothing for granted.

“It was a great honor, just getting to play in this alternate season. I was told Day One that coach wanted me to get used to kicking quite a bit, since that was going to be my primary focus right away, and then they were going to groom me in to be a wide receiver.”

Chase is also the placeholder for kickoffs and field goals, and that’s an added bit of pressure for the freshman. That’s where he draws on his time as a receiver with Stratford, where he finished with over 500 receiving yards in his career. Good hands are a must in his line of work.

“I think that’s where being a receiver for Stratford kinda contributes, with the hands and being a receiver it’s easier to grab it quick and put it down. Coaches emphasize once you get the ball, tuck it down right away.”

Flink will have two more games left in this alternate spring season. After that, he’ll get his first full season in over two years in September.

He’s been through a lot in the past year, from COVID-19 to college, but one thing that never wavered his desire to play ball and be a Red Hawk.

“Not one day,” Flink says when asked about any regrets. “Like I said, you have to trust your gut, and I did that. When I’m here, and when I’m on the field, I know I made the right decision. I know I’m home.”