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Wrestling
is BOTH an individual sport and a team sport, and every athlete
plays a vital role in the success of our team.
Individual
Scores
A full
team consists of 14 wrestlers, one in each weight class. The athletes
only wrestle within their weight class, so a full varsity meet consists
of at most 14 individual matches. Athletes earn points by take-downs,
escapes, and near-falls. These points determine a winner for each
match, and each win is counted toward the athlete's individual record.
The exception to this rule occurs when one wrestler pins the other
(holds both the opponents shoulders to the mat for three seconds).
This ends the match, giving the win to the one who pinned his opponent,
regardless of the point score at that time.
Dual
Meets
When
two teams wrestle against each other, it's called a dual meet. As
each of the athletes wrestles the opponent in his weight class,
he's fighting for his individual win/loss, and also for team points.
If it's a close match (less than 7 points difference between the
two wrestler's scores) the winner's team gets 3 points. For a major
decision (8-14 point spread) the team gets 4 points, and a wrestler
who wins by 15 points or more earns 5 points for his team. A pin
is worth 6 points.
In actual
meets, however, we don't always get to have all 14 matches. A smaller
team may not have a wrestler in all weight classes, or a wrestler
may get injured or be temporarily unable to participate for a number
of reasons. This generates a "forfeit" for the team at
that weight class, and gives away 6 team points to the opposition.
Clearly,
it's better to wrestle than forfeit! A team that can't field a full
team starts out each meet "in the hole" by 6 points for
each missing weight class.
Dual
meets usually have a JV component as well. Both teams work hard
to get the JV wrestlers as many matches as possible, and occasionally
may let the athletes wrestle against the next higher or lower weight
class, depending on the number of wrestlers available on each team.
Sometimes you'll also see JV matches where both athletes are on
the same team. Any match is good experience, and helps the wrestlers
improve technique and get used to the high-pressure atmosphere of
a real meet with official referees and spectators. JV matches do
not earn team points.
Tournaments
Tournaments
can have an individual competition, a team competition, or both.
For example, the William Bell Invitational began with series of
dual meets to determine the top team, and then the top four wrestlers
in each weight class went on to wrestle individually.
Teams
get extra points for each round a wrestler advances in the tournament
plus more points for medals. The higher the medal, the more points.
Wrestling
is not like football or other sports, we don’t have bench players
with us at the tournament. If a wrestler does not show up as expected,
there is no one there to take his place. With a wrestler missing
in a weight class a team loses the opportunity to earn team points
there, up to 50 or more points from an individual. Wrestlers don't
necessarily need to win a match to earn team points. They can catch
them from byes and forfeits. Leaving a weight class unfilled when
we have other wrestlers available who are eager to compete is disappointing
to the those wrestlers, to the coaching staff, and to the entire
team. Without those points the team really suffers.
Please
support our efforts by letting coaching staff know if your wrestler
is unable to make an event. We have other wrestlers who are eagerly
waiting for the opportunity to compete. If your wrestler is currently
ranked number 2, 3, or 4 in his weight class, please be ready and
willing to show up on short notice. This is how wrestling works.
This is how we will be the most competitive and provide the most
opportunity for each wrestler.
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