Wrestling is a complicated sport. In terms of understanding how scoring works, there’s no doubt it’s one of the harder sports to watch.
And there’s also no shortage of confusing vocabulary. Tech fall. Back points. Danger warning.
Even for Cal Poly Wrestling Head Coach Jon Sioredas, who’s been wrestling since high school and coaching for almost twenty years, the technicalities of the combat sport can still be hard to follow.
“I have been in this sport my entire life, and there are still instances where I’m not 100% sure,” Sioredas said. “I think I know, but the ref has a different opinion.”
With the Pac-12 Championships coming to San Luis Obispo for the first time since 2005, there will be 40 matches taking place inside Mott Athletics Center this Friday, March 6.
The all-day tournament will start at 12:30 p.m., building up to the finals matches at 6 p.m.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament, along with some explanations on wrestling rules and scoring.
How the tournament format works
Since the Pac-12 only consists of four teams, the prelims consist of two matches for each weight class.
WATCH NOW: “PAC-12 Wrestling Championships Explainer”
Wrestling consists of 10 weight classes, starting at 125 pounds and going all the way up to heavyweights who compete at 285 pounds.
The winner of each match will move onto the finals, while the losers will move to the third place match.
With the Pac-12 consisting of three teams outside of Cal Poly – Little Rock, Cal State Bakersfield and Oregon State – each team will have one representative at each weight class.
Once all twenty prelim matchups have been completed, third place matches are set to follow. Once third place matches conclude, the finals matches will start at 6 p.m.
Where do the winners go?
The winners of each weight class get an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 19-21.
There will also be an additional automatic qualifier for three weight classes, meaning 13 total wrestlers will punch their tickets to the NCAA Championships. Those will be the 125-pound, 149-pound and 197-pound weight class.
The tournament does this because these three brackets are the most competitive, so it’s basically giving an automatic at-large bid before the tournament even happens.
There’s also a team title that will be awarded after the tournament ends, but this has no influence on the NCAA Championships or any automatic bids.
How does wrestling work?
There’s three timed periods in NCAA wrestling, starting with a three minute period.
The wrestlers compete for three straight minutes, then take a small break to reset. Period two and three are two minutes long, and whoever has the most points at the end wins the match. In total, a match is seven minutes of regulation time.
If the match is tied, it goes into sudden victory where whoever scores first wins.
How do you score points?
Point scoring is arguably the most confusing part of wrestling.
Unlike mixed martial arts, wrestling does not end via submission, which means the goals are much different. Wrestlers are trying to score points.
“It’s a game of inches. A lot of times, it can be a one point or overtime match,” Sioredas said. “But the goal is to win by the largest margin possible.”
Let’s start with scoring one point. There are three ways:
Escape: In both the second and third periods, one wrestler will start on top of the other. An escape If the wrestler on bottom can literally “escape” from the hold of his opponent, he will be awarded one point.
Stalling: A wrestling match is meant to occur in the center of the mat, but there is constant movement. If one of the wrestlers is operating too close to the edge or letting himself get pushed out of bounds, he will get a stall warning. After the second warning, the opposing wrestler is awarded one point.
There’s a lot of technicalities with stalling, but just know if you see the referee holding up a clenched fist, it means he’s signaling stalling.
Riding time: This means when a wrestler has control of their opponent. If he has control for over a minute, the wrestler is awarded a point. Both wrestlers can accumulate riding time but the point is only awarded to who gets one minute or more.
Two points:
Stalling: If a wrestler gets four stalling calls, the opposing wrestler is awarded two points.
Reversal: This is when someone who is on bottom gains position on top. This is different from “escaping,” because the wrestler on bottom does not need to stand to his feet to score the points, as long as he has control.
“You basically just get on top of someone when they were on top of you,” redshirt junior 125-pounder Koda Holeman said. “You can’t get a reversal unless someone’s on top of you.”
Reversals are a little bit more rare of a scoring technique, but they still happen.
Near fall: This is when a wrestler has his opponent flipped on his back. If a wrestler can hold his opponent with his back facing the mat – but not pinned to the mat – he gets awarded points. If it’s for two seconds, he gets two points. Wrestlers can score up to four points if they can hold their opponent in that position for four seconds.
Three points:
Takedowns: These are the most common scoring method in wrestling. It’s awarded when both wrestlers are standing up, and one of them takes the other to the mat and gains control.
Takedowns are incredibly subjective, as the definition of control differs amongst referees.
“I think I know, but the ref has a different opinion,” Sioredas said.
How a match can end
Besides scoring the most points, a match can also end by technical fall or pin.
Technical fall: This is when a wrestler gains a 15-point advantage, in which the match ends immediately.
Pin: This is when one wrestler pins his opponent’s shoulder blade on the mat. This is different from near fall, as both shoulder blades have to be held on the mat. A pin ends the match immediately, regardless of which wrestler is winning or how much time there is.
Although it can be complicated, wrestling is just like any other sport. Wrestlers put in hours and hours of work to showcase their skills for just seven minutes.
And with the Pac-12 Championships this Friday, that work will be on display for Cal Poly.
“We’ve got some of the best wrestling in the country right here in San Luis Obispo,” Sioredas said. “When someone starts to level change or hit the mat or grab someone’s leg, that’s when the magic happens.”