Analysis of scoring strategies in college wrestling

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the scoring strategies in college wrestling to identify a relationship to winning the wrestling match. Sixteen collegiate wrestlers from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a division three college in the Midwest, participated in the study. Fifteen factors were chosen by anecdotal theories and experts in the sport as possible indicators of success in a wrestling match. The data was collected from fifteen matches of each wrestler during the 2012-2013 wrestling season. The results could allow for a better understanding of what factors are the best predictors of a win of a wrestling match. A Chi-square test (?2) was done on each individual variable to find the relationship between each variable to the outcome of the wrestling match. Unanswered points (83.5%), leading the second period (83.6%), and first takedown (79.9%) had the highest percent to the outcome of the match and were all significant (<.001) to winning the wrestling match. A multiple logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship of all the predictors to winning a collegiate wrestling match. Riding time, third period points, first takedown, leading the second period, and unanswered points were included in the equation which revealed a 93.2% of correct predictions.