Jordan Burroughs defeated Chance Marsteller in the first round of Final X, 3-3 on criteria in a bout that ended with controversy. With a world team spot on the line, it’s worth breaking down the final moments of this match.

As the clock ticked to zero, Chance Marsteller was in the lead 3-2 and it appeared he would be heading into round two just 1 match away from making the world team. However, as often happens at the end of matches, Burroughs’ corner threw the challenge brick. As the officials reviewed the last 20 seconds of the match, it was clear that Chance Marsteller grabbed Burroughs’ singlet at about 15 seconds left in the match. Because of that singlet pull, the officials gave a caution to Chance Marsteller resulting in 1 point for Jordan Burroughs and giving him the lead, and win, on criteria.

Was The Brick Thrown Too Late?

Almost as soon as Burroughs’ corner threw the brick, Marsteller’s coaches contended that they waited too long to challenge the call. According to UWW’s rulebook, “No challenge can be requested after the end of the regular time of a period, except when the points are added to the scoreboard after the referee’s whistle or in case action occurred just before the time is over. The coach has 5 seconds from the time the questioned score is posted on the official scoreboard to request a challenge.” Because the challenge came 15 seconds after the call, and at the end of the period, it does not fit the criteria laid out in UWW’s rulebook.

So was it the wrong call? Not quite. USA Wrestling has its own rulebook and outlines allowable challenges slightly differently. The USA Wrestling rulebook states, “A wrestler may also indicate his or her desire to challenge a scoring action once the athletes have come to a neutral position or there is a natural stoppage in the match by gesturing or asking the referee of their desire to challenge.” The key phrase here is "natural stoppage". This verbiage allows for subjectivity and the refs chose to interpret the end of the match as a natural stoppage, allowing Burroughs to challenge the call. 

A Caution Or A Warning For Chance Marsteller?

The other contention in the point for Burroughs is that not all singlet pulls result in a caution +1 on the international scene but usually do in the United States. Again, this is because there is a discrepancy between the two rulebooks. UWW’s rulebook allows for subjectivity. If the refs believe the singlet grab didn’t prevent an imminent score from the offensive wrestler, then the defensive wrestler will only receive a warning and not give up a point. However, USA Wrestling’s rulebook defines all singlet grabs as an illegal move that results in 1-point for the opposing wrestler.

Should Time Have Been Put Back On The Clock?

The final point of contention resulted from the singlet grab occurring at 15 seconds left in the match. Should that time have been put back on the clock allowing Marsteller 15 seconds to score? The simple answer, no. American fans might be a little too familiar with the collegiate folkstyle video review that makes an exception for "dead time." This means that if a call is overturned, the time on the clock goes back to when that call occurred. However, this rule does not exist in freestyle. The officials only rescore the bout correctly up until the wrestling stops. Because the stoppage occurred at the end of the match, the match was correctly deemed over after the challenge decision was made.