What is Collegiate Wrestling?

Collegiate Wrestling is one of the three main types of wrestling alongside Freestyle and Greco-Roman. It is also commonly referred to as Folkstyle which you may have heard of and as the name suggests, it is practiced by those in the college education system in the USA. This means that Collegiate wrestling is directly linked with the education system. This article will outline everything you need to know about Collegiate wrestling and how it works. Read on for more information.

What is Collegiate style wrestling?

Collegiate Wrestling gets its name as it’s commonly practiced in US colleges and is basically Folkstyle wrestling. This means that like Freestyle, you can grab the opponent’s legs, either offensively or defensively. However, it has a key difference compared to Freestyle in the way it’s scored. Basically, when pinning you get points per second, but the person on the bottom is allowed more time to escape.

What is the difference between Collegiate wrestling and Freestyle wrestling?

In short, the rules are actually pretty similar to those used in Freestyle wrestling but the point structure is slightly different and places a greater emphasis on top control rather than takedowns. It should also be added that these days, Collegiate wrestling is distinctly American and isn’t practiced as much outside of the USA. Notable Collegiate wrestlers over the years include the likes of Ben Askren and Bo Nickal.

How do you get into Collegiate wrestling?

Anyone can train Collegiate wrestling provided you’re at college and you get good enough grades to train. However, it goes without saying that if you want to get to the top, you’ll have to be a good wrestler. Collegiate wrestling categories are divided into three sections, including D1, D2, and D3. The best of these ranks is being a D1 wrestler, then D2, and lastly D3.

Although Division 1 wrestlers are considered the best, it should still be acknowledged that even D3 wrestlers are pretty elite compared to their peers. Generally, if you’re a top D1 wrestler then it means you can go on to make a solid career as a professional wrestler or grappler later on. In fact, the very best of D1 wrestlers may also go on to represent the USA at the Olympics.

How many NAIA wrestling teams are there?

NAIA stands for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is a form of Collegiate wrestling. As of 2021, there are a total of 68 different NAIA colleges. This means if you want to train at an NAIA college then there’s plenty of choices. Depending on who you talk to, NAIA wrestlers are somewhere between D2 and D3 wrestlers in terms of skill level. Therefore, it’s fair to say that NAIA wrestling colleges are skillful in their own right. Like D1 wrestlers, NAIA can’t get paid though as Collegiate wrestling is strictly amateur. Having said this, NAIA wrestlers are sometimes eligible for financial aid.

How long is a Collegiate wrestling match?

The length of a Collegiate wrestling match is 7 minutes. The first round lasts 3 minutes and then the remaining two rounds are 2 minutes each. If ever you’ve wrestled, you’ll agree that these 7 minutes can be incredibly tiresome as well as being mentally and physically very tough. This is why wrestlers have incredible cardio as it’s needed to go the distance in longer matches.

Usually, a Collegiate wrestler will have a few matches throughout a match day so even though they can rest in between bouts, their cardio will need to be on point to allow for explosive movements and takedowns. As a result, these settings are often replicated in the training room which usually means 7 minute rounds and plenty of cardio drills.

Who is the best ever Collegiate wrestler?

Arguably, the best ever Collegiate wrestler is Lee Kemp. Although his name isn’t talked about that much anymore, Lee Kemp was an incredible college wrestler at his peak. For instance, he won gold at the likes of World Championships, Pan-Ams and also won the National Championships seven times. Perhaps the reason why he’s less spoken about these days is due to his age, as these accomplishments took place during the 70s.

This led to Kemp entering the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1989 as well as the FILA Hall of Fame later on. During his last 3 years in Collegiate competition, Kemp won 110 matches without losing, which also included a win over the legendary competitor and coach – Dan Gable. Of course, these days names such as Cael Sanderson and Kyle Dake are often referred to as the modern-day greats.

What does it take to be an All American in wrestling?

The term All American wrestler is often associated with Collegiate wrestling due to being US-based. This isn’t just a fancy term or name though. Instead, All American wrestler is a term given when someone finishes in the top 8 in a national tournament. For instance, if someone got to the final 8 of the Pan-Ams, then they could be considered an All American wrestler. Obviously, this is a great title to earn and shows that the wrestler is one of the best in the USA at their weight class.

Transitioning from Collegiate wrestling to Olympic wrestling

As mentioned earlier, Collegiate wrestling is different from other styles. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it can still crossover into Olympic glory. For instance, whilst a Collegiate wrestler may struggle with the style and rules of Greco-Roman, they may excel at Freestyle. The reason for this is that there are still lower-body grips and the rules are quite similar.

Of course, to transition, you’d have to train under a Freestyle ruleset and adjust your strategy accordingly. Nonetheless, if you’re fundamentally a good Collegiate wrestler, then this should mean you’re still a good Freestyle wrestler too. Arguably, this can be seen with the USA’s success on the Olympic stage.

If you’d like to learn more about Collegiate wrestling then check out this book which is a comprehensive guide.