However, one item that Burroughs harped on that I haven't touched on too often is the lack of effective refereeing at the NCAA tournament.
In his piece the Olympic and NCAA champion bemoaned situational stall calls and consolation stall calls -- both are items largely absent from the international stage, but ingrained in refereeing culture at the NCAA level.
The situational stall call, as described by Burroughs, would be when one wrestler is the aggressor for six minutes against a defensive wrestler, only to have his opponent come to life with only seconds remaining. Referees note this action and call the once-offensive wrestler for stalling.
That call is similar to Burroughs' other complaint -- that referees often make conciliatory stall calls with 10 seconds left with no intention of ever calling the second and pushing the match to overtime, or deciding the match. Burroughs posits this hesitation is due to a strong reaction from the crowd.
We are fortunate to have referees write into the mailbag with some consistency and Burroughs' comments remind me of their constant complaint: that the wrestling officials are too scared to help create action because they are fearful of looking as though they are getting too involved.
The truth is there isn't much action in a typical NCAA wrestling match, another point made by Burroughs in his article. Right now the typical NCAA match strategy is to avoid any points in the first period, escape quickly in the second period and then earn a riding time point in the third. With this as your typical match the NCAA obviously NEEDS the referee to get involved and shake up the formula.
Wrestlers have to choose to wrestle once they step on the mat. Burroughs has seen on the international stage that the rules promote action and that referees are forced to have one wrestler come out of the first period with a point. The referee is a constant presence in the match because otherwise the wrestlers would choose to limit risk -- a losing proposition for fans.
The time for change has come to NCAA wrestling and that will start with rules, but needs to continue with the increased presence of referees in the match. More stalling calls earlier in the match will create much more action -- something that should have taken precedent over the new initiative to have four points for a four count on your back (Why are we rewarding double the points for the same action that only lasts two seconds longer?)
Burroughs has seen what an active referee can do, and it's time that the rest of the American wrestling community sees it as well. NCAA wrestling fans deserve more action, not snore rides and conciliatory stall calls.
To your questions ...
Q: What do you make of high school freshman Cade Olivas committing to Arizona State? Do you see a problem with a wrestler that young committing to a college?
-- Mike C.
Cade Olivas (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The bigger fear is if we see too many freshmen making the choice to wrestle somewhere in college. That might not become an issue since most coaches want to see how their wrestlers develop in high school before handing out the promise of a large scholarship.
Olivas' case is probably not indicative of a widening trend, and is much more likely to be an outlier making a pretty calculated decision about his college path.
Q: Is Logan Stieber the only wrestler to win four high school state titles, four NCAA titles and the Dave Schultz award? Or did Cael Sanderson do it before him? If he is the only one how does that rank him among the other four-time college champs?
-- Gregg Y.
Foley: Yes. Cael Sanderson was a four-time Utah state champions, but was not a Dave Schultz High School Excellence winner. The winner in 1997 was Jeff Knupp, who wrestled at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio. So Logan Stieber is the only four-time NCAA champion to win four state titles and become a Dave Schultz Excellence winner.
As far as ranking the four-time NCAA champions, there are arguments to be made for 2-4, but the top spot is almost certainly secured by Cael.
My order would be Cael Sanderson, Logan Stieber, Kyle Dake and Pat Smith. Obviously the fact that Cael was undefeated makes him an easy No. 1. When choosing between Stieber and Dake, I went with the more aggressive and offensive wrestler. Dake won at four weight classes and bested a talented David Taylor, but Stieber was consistently more aggressive in big matches and owns an NCAA finals victory over Jordan Oliver, who like Taylor was a two-time NCAA champion.
Q: Should we be concerned that men's and women's wrestling in college use completely different rules? Are there any other college sports that the genders play by completely different rules? The only one I can think of is baseball/softball, but even there the scoring is the same, balls and strikes are the same, etc. If we are going to advance the sport, we need to have a united front and push for women's programs as well. I'm not sure how easy it is when the sports use such different rules.
-- Josh C.
Foley: No. I don't think that the differences in rules would be considered by any administration thinking of adding women's wrestling. The USA has plenty of coaches and referees who understand the freestyle rules and the media at large wouldn't focus on the difference in rules as much as the addition of new female sport to the Division I level.
The push for women's wrestling at the NCAA Division I level has to come from a major program, or a program that is looking to be reinstated. The NCAA may never sanction the sport at the Division I level, but until a major wrestling powerhouse has a team and an administration pushing for equal coverage the change won't happen.
Not many people remember the story now, but Mike Burch was fired from UC Davis in the 90s for trying to give scholarships to women. He later won a Title IX lawsuit, but by the time everything was processed the momentum for change had been suffocated by the courts and UC Davis eventually lost their program.
We need a leader like Burch, at a secure national powerhouse, to make the stand for women's wrestling to appear at the NCAA Division I level.
Q: South Dakota State landed a top 25 recruiting class this year. A.J. Schopp was recently hired as an assistant coach. Chris Bono really seems to have that program moving in the right direction. What's the ceiling for South Dakota State's wrestling program? Top 15? Top 10? Trophy team?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I'm way too intimidated by Chris Bono to put a limit on what his team might accomplish. However, as a betting man I'd think that you'll start to see the trickling out of All-Americans by 2017 and a top-15 finish by 2020.
Good luck to Coach Bono!
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Death to the singlet
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
Fun back-and-forth match this morning in Doha. Zhou Feng is ranked No. 2 in the world at 75 kilos but has cut down to compete at 69 kilos.
Q: From best team in years to dropped to reinstated to a new Junior World Team member, @CSUWrestling is riding a crazy storyline. #Mailbag
-- @NHoughSnee
Foley: Yes! The Cleveland State saga has turned into a feel good story that should serve as a warning to other athletic administrators about doing what is in the best interest of your school. The personal agendas of college administrators shouldn't be allowed to take hold at the Division I, II or III level. There needs to be more institutional equality, not less.
Q: Gabe Dean won a silver medal at the Pan American Championships in Greco-Roman. Do you expect Dean to focus on Greco as opposed to freestyle on the senior level?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Not necessarily, but I think that diversifying has probably improved his wrestling significantly. I don't know Dean, but having watched him in Santiago it was apparent that he's a good natured guy who loves to wrestle.
Having Dean's energy around the USA program, Greco or freestyle, is nothing but a net positive for the Stars and Stripes.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now