Rules: Scoring

Scoring in wrestling is a lot different from football or baseball, but it is very simple. The four main ways of scoring are: a takedown, an escape, a reversal, or a near fall.

A takedown is when one wrestler takes his opponent from a neutral standing position to a better position on the mat. Take downs can be done in many ways. The most popular is just the single leg takedown. One wrestler shoots for his opponent’s leg, grabs it and pushes until he is on his stomach. Double-leg take downs, throws, leg picks; they are all two points.

An escape is worth one point. It happens when one wrestler has the bottom position on the mat, and is able to break away to a neutral position. An example of this would be after a takedown, the wrestler who was taken down escapes to a neutral standing position. Wrestlers who think they can easily escape from an opponent will choose to start out in the down position to score an easy point.

Reversals are less common than the first two, but they are very exciting to see. They are worth two points, just like take downs. A reversal is when one wrestler is in a defensive position on the bottom and is able to suddenly switch to a better position.

A near fall is worth three points. They happen when one wrestler is about to get a pin, but doesn’t. If the wrestler can hold his opponent close enough to being pinned for long enough, he gets three points.

Dustin Fox

Now, lets go inside the headgear of Dustin Fox, the NCAA heavyweight champion from Northwestern. He has had a very successful wrestling career at Northwestern. His collegiate stats are as follows:

Yr.; Overall; Dual
2004-05; 19-12; 6-3
2005-06; 28-11; 11-4
2006-07; 33-5; 13-2
2007-08; 29-1; 15-1
Totals; 109-29; 45-10

Fox is the 2008 Big Ten and NCAA champion in the heavyweight class. He tallied up five wins with no loses in the NCAA tournament. He scored the second most team points in the entire tournament. His 2006/2007 season was also a great year for Fox. He earned his personal collegiate best record of 33-5 and finished third in the NCAA tournament.

Dustin was born December 16, 1985 to Bill and Kym Fox in Galion Ohio. He went to high school at Galion High School and started his great wrestling career. He won two Ohio state championships, and placed three times. His high school record was 132-14. With such a successful high school career, the best teams from around the country made him offers; Ohio State, Stanford, Princeton, Virginia, and Oklahoma all took a back seat to Northwestern. He based his decision on the great education along with the Big Ten’s accolades in wrestling, Northwestern was the obvious choice. He also knew a guy from high school that was going there. He is grateful for his decision because he loves Chicago, especially the concerts. During his free time, Fox likes to go see movies and concerts with his friends. If he wasn’t a wrestler, he would like to make movies. He’s a film major so some day, maybe he will.

Fox’s championship match was a very interesting and exciting to watch. His opponent, J.D. Bergman from Ohio State, was a good friend of his in high school. He knew him for a long time and they always wrestled on the same team. They never met in a real match until college. Fox said it was weird because he was so used to practicing him in high school, and now it’s the biggest stakes with the most on the line. Fox also said about the championship match that he didn’t want to get too nervous before. A lot of people can’t appreciate the moment that they have been waiting for their whole lives because they are too nervous. Fox didn’t let that happen. He sat back, relaxed and enjoyed his accomplishment.

The match itself was entertaining as well. It went into two overtime periods. The first overtime was very action packed. Fox gets an incidental head but in the first to stop up the action and tend to his bloody nose. A bloody nose that goes nicely with his cut forehead and busted headgear. Bergman chooses the down position at the beginning of the second overtime period. Bergman charges up and breaks away from Fox to take a one point lead. Fox then takes the down position and escapes immediately to tie the score. In the final one minute round, Fox blocks a desperate shoot from Bergman and retaliates with his own. Fox is able to control Bergman’s leg and takes him down for two points and the victory. Watch the overtime periods here

See some Dustin Fox interviews at flowrestling.com

Iowa's Great Success This Year

Iowa has really had a great season of wrestling. Brent Metcalf at 159 pounds and Mark Perry at 165 pounds each won their weight class. Those two pushed the team to a 38.5 victory margin. This championship is their first as a team in eight years. Brent Metcalf says, “the program is building, and its working toward dominance,” speaking of the current Iowa team. Metcalf will be a junior next year and will play an important role in their success. Metcalf beat Bubba Jenkins of Penn State for the championship at a score of 14-8. He trailed early, but came back for the win.

NCAA Tournament Individual Results

The Big Ten also did very well in the individual championships.

125: #1 Angel Escobedo, Indiana – W, 8-3 dec.
#2 Jayson Ness, Minnesota
133: #3 Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State – WBF (0:49)
#4 Joey Slaton, Iowa
141: #6 J Jaggers, Ohio State – W, 5-2 dec.
#1 Chad Mendes, Cal Poly
149: #1 Brent Metcalf, Iowa – W, 14-8 dec.
#6 Bubba Jenkins, Penn State
157: #8 Jordan Leen, Cornell – W, 5-4 dec.
#2 Mike Poeta, Illinois
165: #2 Mark Perry, Iowa – W, 5-2 dec.
#1 Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan
174: #1 Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh – W, 4-2
#2 Steve Luke, Michigan
184: #2 Mike Pucillo, Ohio State – W, 3-3 dec. (tb; rt)
#1 Jake Varner, Iowa State
197: #2 Phil Davis, Penn State – W, 7-2 dec.
#4 Wynn Michalak, Central Michigan
HWT:#1 Dustin Fox, Northwestern – W, 4-2 (sv) dec.
#2 J.D. Bergman, Ohio State

Seven of the ten champions were Big Ten wrestlers. Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana all had champion wreslters. Any match that didn't have a Big Ten wrestler winning, had one losing. Every championship match was represented by either a winner, loser, or both from the Big Ten. That is awesome.

NCAA Tournament team results

The NCAA championship was held in St. Louis on March 20, 21, 22. The final team results are as follows:
NCAA TEAM STANDINGS - TOP 10 TEAMS
Place Team Points Finalists
1. Iowa 109.5 3
2. Nebraska 74 0
3. Iowa State 72 1
4. Ohio State 71 3
Penn State 71 2
6. Central Michigan 69 1
Michigan 69 2
8. Oklahoma State 66 1
9. Cornell 63 1
10. Minnesota 61.5 1

As you can clearly see, Iowa went on to win the NCAA championship right after their Big Ten victory. You can also notice how many Big Ten teams are up there; Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Minnesota. That’s the top half of the Big Ten.

Responce to the New Weight Method

I thought the test was very effective. They found a faster, more accurate and, more comfortable method for weighing and determining wrestler's lowest wrestling weight. The tests they ran on the college wrestlers were done right and were very effective. The NCAA should start using it some time soon. A more accurate method ensures the safety of the wrestlers. Dropping below a certain percent body fat is not safe, and can have negative effects on the body. Keeping people safe and making their lives easier; thats just a good test.

Results of the Big Ten Tournament

The Big Ten tournament was held on March 8 and 9 in Minnesota. Iowa wins by a landslide with a final team score of 127. The Minnesota Gophers wound up in second with a score of 112.5. Michigan claimed the third spot with 97.5 team points. Illinois ended with 94, good enough for fourth. The Buckeyes 92.5 points earned them fifth place. Wisconsin scored 85.5 and ended in sixth. The Nittany Lions took seventh with 84.5. Indiana scored 80 points for an eighth place finish. Northwestern finished with 80 points as well for a ninth place finish. Purdue scored 51.5 points putting them ahead of only the Spartans, who rounded out the scoring with 34.
The championship matches went as follows.

125 - #3 Angel Escobedo (IND) defeated #1 Jayson Ness (MINN), 4-2
The first round went scoreless. Escobedo scored two points for a reversal in the second. Ness scored a reversal in the third period to tie it. Escobedo got an escape and the riding time point to win the match

133 - #3 Franklin Gomez (MSU) defeated #1 James Kennedy (ILL), 3-1
In the first, Gomez scored two points for a takedown, and had an escape in the second. Kennedy’s only point came from an escape in the third period.

141 - #1 Kellen Russell (MICH) defeated #6 Manuel Rivera (MINN), 3-2
Russel scored a takedown and Rivera escaped in the first round. Russel got an escape in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Rivera’s efforts in the final round came up short with just an escape.

149 - #1 Brent Metcalf (IOWA) defeated #2 Dustin Schlatter (MINN), 5-3
The first round favored Schlatter with a takedown while Metcalf only had an escape. Metcalf tied it up with another escape in the second. Schlatter got an escape early in the third to take the lead, but Metcalf retaliated with a takedown and got a stalling point to pull out the win.

157 - #1 Michael Poeta (ILL) defeated #2 Dan Vallimont (PSU), 8-2
The first period went scoreless. Poeta scored three in the second with an escape and a takedown. The third period was filled with scoring. Poeta had two takedowns and earned the riding point. Vallimont escaped twice for two points.

165 - #2 Eric Tannenbaum (MICH) defeated #1 Mark Perry (IOWA), 3-2
Tennenbaum scored a takedown, but was penalized for locked hands shortly after putting the score at 2-1. A Perry escape tied it up for the second. The second and third periods went scoreless, and Tennenbaum won with riding time.

174 - #1 Steve Luke (MICH) defeated #3 Gabriel Dretsch (MINN), 5-3
Luke scored two takedowns and Dretsch escaped twice in the first. Dretsch scored one escape in the second. In the third, Luke escaped and earned the riding time.

184 - #1 Mike Pucillo (OSU) defeated #2 Tyrel Todd (MICH), 4-3
The first period went scoreless. Pucillo scored an escape followed by a Todd takedown in the second. Todd followed up with an escape in the third, but lost a violation point. Pucillo scored a takedown to finish out the match.
197 - #2 Phil Davis (PSU) defeated #1 Mike Tamillow (NU), 3-2
The first went scoreless. Davis scored an escape and a takedown in the second. Tamillow earned an escape in the second. Tamillow escaped in the third and David ended with riding time.
Hwt - #2 Dustin Fox (NU) defeated #1 J.D. Bergman (OSU), 2-0
The first period went scoreless. Fox scored an escape in the second. No scoring in the third, and Fox earned the riding time point.