So you have decided to keep score of an NCAA wrestling match. That’s great news! Wrestling is the world’s oldest and greatest sport, and the NCAA ruleset is one of the most popular varieties of wrestling. 

Understanding The Collegiate Wrestling Style AKA 'Folkstyle'

There are several popular wrestling rulesets used throughout the world, but the style used on the collegiate level in America is colloquially known as ‘folkstyle’. It is also known as ‘scholastic’ or, appropriately enough, ‘collegiate’.

The key to folkstyle wrestling is CONTROL. One wrestler must establish control over his opponent to score offensive points, such as takedowns, near fall, and reversals. A wrestler may also score defensive points, such as an escape, or from penalties incurred by their opponents. 

A high school folkstyle match will have a slightly different scoring system than a college folkstyle match, but the emphasis on control remains the same.

To fully understand the rules of NCAA wrestling, simply memorize the most recent rulebook. For a summary of those rules, continue reading this article. 

To learn how to use Trackwrestling software, visit this YouTube page. 

The Basics Of An NCAA Match

A collegiate match takes place between two competitors who wrestle each other on a mat. There are three periods in each match. The first period of a college match is three minutes long. The second and third period are two minutes each. 

At the end of a match, the wrestler with the most points wins. If the score is tied, an overtime period occurs. If the score is still tied, the wrestler with the most riding time wins (more on riding time later in this article). 

Ending A Match Before Time Expires

An NCAA match can also end before the seven minutes of regulation time is up if one wrestler pins another (holds the two shoulder blades down on the mat for one second), which is recorded as a FALL, OR if one wrestler scores 15 or more points than their other, which is recorded as a TECHNICAL FALL.

WATCH: A championship folkstyle match from the 2023 EIWA 157 lbs finals between Lehigh's Jordan Humphreys and Penn's Anthony Artalona:

Different Ways To Score In An NCAA Match

TAKEDOWN: when both wrestlers start in neutral and one establishes control of the other while at least one knee or two hands of their opponent is down on the mat. Takedowns are worth THREE POINTS.

ESCAPE: when one wrestler was under the control of their opponent but frees themselves and returns to neutral. An escape is worth ONE POINT. 

REVERSAL: when one wrestler was under the control of their opponent but then establishes control of the opponent without ever going back to neutral. A reversal is worth TWO POINTS. 

NEAR FALL: When one wrestler, while in control of another, forces their opponents' shoulder blades past a 45-degree angle for at least two seconds. A near fall that lasts two seconds is worth TWO POINTS. If it lasts three or four seconds, it is worth THREE OR FOUR POINTS respectively. Also known as ‘back points’. 

PENALTY POINTS: When a wrestler does something that is not allowed (and there are many specific violations that would take too long to enumerate), they are penalized a point.

READ MORE: Recent changes to the NCAA scoring system.

The Three Positions Of A Folkstyle Wrestling Match

The first period of an NCAA match starts in neutral. In the second period, one wrestler chooses either top, bottom, neutral, or defers. Top and bottom refer to REFEREE'S POSITION, where the bottom wrestler starts on their hands and knees and the other wrestler kneels behind them with one hand on their opponent’s waist and the other on their opponent's elbow. 

If you choose a position at the start of the second period, your opponent will choose in the third. If you defer, your opponent picks in the second and you choose in the third.

From neutral, either wrestler can score takedowns. From bottom, you can score an escape and a reversal. From top, you can score near fall. You can be awarded penalty points in any position.

Stalling And Riding Time

Two of the more complicated rules in the NCAA rule book are stalling and riding time. 

If a wrestler is not working to improve their position, the referee is required to call stalling on them. This sounds simple but is exceedingly difficult to define in black-and-white terms and is the subject of endless debate within the wrestling community. 

In any event, a wrestler gets one stall warning, after which they are penalized a point for the next two stall calls they receive. A fourth stall call will cause a wrestler to be penalized two points. A fifth stall call results in disqualification. 

Riding time is a clock that counts up in favor of a wrestler as soon as they establish control of a wrestler. If the other wrestler subsequently establishes control, the riding time clock stops and then starts counting down until it gets to zero, at which point it begins counting in favor of the other wrestler. 

At the end of the match, if one wrestler has over a minute of riding time, an extra point is awarded. If the score is tied after overtime, the wrestler with the most riding time will be declared the winner. 

READ MORE: Why the recent rule changes did not include a change in how riding time is scored. 

Utilizing A Score Sheet

Score sheets are any piece of paper where you write down the names of each wrestler, the weight class in which they are participating, and other select other information, such as teams each wrestler on, then the score of the match. Hence, the score sheet. 

As NCAA wrestling matches consist of three periods plus a potential overtime period, a two-by-four set of boxes is typical, with the two competitors each listed next to one set of four boxes. 

When either wrestler scores a point, it is recorded in the appropriate box corresponding to the wrestler who scored the point and the period in which it was scored. 

There are also computer programs that allow you to replicate this process on all sorts of devices and platforms. It’s truly a wonder of modern technology!

WATCH: More details about the latest NCAA rule changes:

Classification Of Victory

There are four main ways for a match to end.

FALL: When the match ends after one wrestler pins another. It is worth SIX team points in a dual meet. 

TECHNICAL FALL: When a wrestler has 15 or more match points than their opponent. It is worth FIVE team points in a dual meet.

MAJOR DECISION: When a match ends and one wrestler has between 8 and 14 more points than their opponent. It is worth FOUR team points in a dual meet. 

DECISION: When a match ends and one wrestler has between 1 and 7 more points than their opponent. It is worth THREE team points in a dual meet. 

You can also win via disqualification, forfeit, or medical default, all of which are worth SIX team points. You score no points for your team in a dual meet if you lose a match. 

Watch NCAA Wrestling On FloWrestling 

FloWrestling streams a variety of NCAA wrestling events throughout the year, including many D1 dual meets and tournaments. FloWrestling also provides in-depth analysis, rankings and more when it comes to NCAA wrestling. 

Subscribe to the FloSports app and FloWrestling to watch more action!