High school wrestling: Make that a 3-point takedown under newly adopted rules

This will take a little getting used to.

Forever, fans' cries of "that's two (points)!" when a wrestler takes down another wrestler in a tight match have been heard in high school gyms across the state and country.

Starting with the coming season, takedowns will now be worth three points in high school matches (a rule colleges adopted last season).

Get ready to yell, uh, "that's three!"

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"I like it," Conwell-Egan head coach Chuckie Connor said. "I like that the wrestler that is trying to score will get more of a reward.

"It will make kids get better on their feet and the offensive wrestler will benefit from it. In freestyle wrestling and the Olympics, wrestlers are on their feet 99 percent of the time. This will help the younger wrestlers improve on their feet and that's a really good thing."

In addition to the three-point takedown, other changes recently announced by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) and adopted by the PIAA include a four-point near fall and an amendment to the out-of-bounds rule.

With near falls, instead of the old two back points for a three count and three-back points points for a five count, it will now be (like in college matches) two points for a two count, three points for a three count and four points for four swipes by the official.

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"I think the four back points is kind of cool," Central Bucks East head coach Dave Scarpill said. "It will make it simpler for the fans. When a ref does a two count, it's two, (and) three is three, and so on."

The new out of bounds rule should also make things easier for everyone since wrestlers will be considered in bounds if either wrestler has one point of contact (a toe, hand, etc.) inside the boundary line. It should help eliminate the subjectivity of the out-of-bounds call.

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"I think the out of bounds rule will be very helpful for everyone," Quakertown head coach Kurt Handel said. "It will make it easier on the officials to make that call and will help the kid that is using the whole mat. Hopefully, the new rules will get kids to be more aggressive and score more points.

"You're going to see major decisions turn into tech falls and more tech falls overall. And the pinners will have to work faster because the points will pile up. Back in the day, it was put your opponent on the mat and do (arm) bars and cradles. Today, it's take them down."

The new changes should also help high school wrestlers prepare to compete on the next level.

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"Making rules that are like the ones used in college is a good idea," Scarpill said.

"We'll get more offense in high school matches. And for the kids that go on to wrestle in college, it will be easier for them because they'll be used to it."

Drew Markol covers local sports forPhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.