I came across an interesting piece in my morning reading, looking at the breakdown of scoring in NCAA Division I wrestling over the past five years. 

The Open Mat compiled data provided by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, and found that since the implementation of the four-point nearfall, scoring is up - though the longterm trend is for more scoring in general, as you can see from 2013 through 2015.

Of note, takedown and escape points, as a percentage of overall scoring, are relatively consistent year-by-year, and what has changed is an increase in back points, a drop in reversals, and a slight downward trend in riding time bonus points.

At some point I may try to dig up stats on the the number of tech falls and pins year-over-year, positing that perhaps the drop in riding time points is related to more matches ending early.

The data shows an increase in penalty points as well, and the author seems to indicate that's largely driven by an increase in the number of stalling calls.

Ohio State was assessed one stalling penalty in its dual at Chattanooga Sunday, in the 125-pound match. Brakan Mead had narrowed his deficit in the match to single point early in the third, but the penalty killed any momentum he had going, put the score 4-2, and Alonzo Allen scored the final takedown to put the match out of reach.

Aficionados, what say you? Do you see anything interesting in the data? Why were there so many more escapes in 2015 than in the two years before or since? Are officials assessing too many penalty points? When will NCAA wrestling adopt a freestyle-type out of bounds rule?

Discuss :)