By Michael Letendre

There’s nothing better than the annual Bristol Central/Bristol Eastern wrestling meet in February.

If you’re lucky, it’s a 2-3 hour event where some of the best scholastic grapplers in the state clash at either the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium at Central or the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium on the campus of Bristol Eastern.

Sometimes, it’s the only meet scholastic wrestling fans will attend each year and is a remarkable spectacle when each school hosts its city series rival.

However, some people are left scratching their heads on how each match is scored after a grappler comes away victorious.

Even some local writers over the years seemed confused on wrestling scoring.

Points are awarded for each individual victory but how many points are earned for a pin-fall or a major decision?

Well, you don’t need any advanced degree to figure out the points as the mathematics are quite simple once each fall or decision is known.

Each winner can be awarded anywhere from three to six points depending on how the bout was decided.

The matches are broken down into three, two minute periods and bouts that end in decisions go the full six minutes.

Overtime can play into the final outcome as well.

Pin-falls, forfeits, injuries, technical falls, and disqualifications can end a match early and are worth more points than just a regular or major decision.

Here’s how the scoring in scholastic wrestling works:

*Three points are earned via a regular decision – a match that goes the distance and won by seven points or less.

*Four points are awarded on a major decision – a bout that goes the full six minutes but is won between eight and 14 points.

*Five points are allotted for a victory by a technical fall – a match that sees the winner lead by 15 or more points which immediately stops the bout.

*Six points are awarded in matches that end in pin-falls, forfeits, injury defaults, or a disqualification.

Now you know how the points are earned in scholastic wrestling so the next step is to see a practical example from the recent past and watch the scoring in action.

Let’s use the Central/Eastern match from ten years ago as the Rams were a top-10 team in the state that season while the Lancers weren’t far behind.

In 2010, Central (fourth at the Class L championship that year) had an outstanding year at 18-1 under head coach Brian Archibald while Eastern (fifth at the L’s) was impressive at 22-3, led by current mentor Bryant Lishness.

This showdown on Friday, February 12 easily could have gone either way as both squads entered the evening at 5-0 in CCC south action.

And towards the end of the meet, the Lancers led 26-21 with three matches to go.

But Central’s wheelhouse of Colin Lombardi (125 pounds), Nick Cyr (130), and Seth Vose (135) closed out the deal for the Rams as the squad defeated Eastern in the end by a 32-26 final from BCHS.

Before looking at the closing moments that sealed the Rams’ win, here’s a special look at the entire wrestling meet between the Bristol programs.

Central rolled out to an early edge when Dylan McIntyre (140) earned a 13-4 major decision over Eastern’s Matt Marquis, Zach Cappola (145) earned an 11-4 decision versus the Lancers’ Christian St. Peter, and as Joe Hoxha (152) drew an 18-1 technical fall against Mike Cassin, Central led 12-0 through three matches.

But the showdown quickly evened out as Eastern’s Mike Lipka (160) got the visitors on the scoreboard with three points over a tough 3-2 decision against Austin Darley.

And with Eastern’s Miquel Ramos securing a 9-0 major decision over Chris Dionne, Central’s lead was trimmed to 12-7 via the four points from Dionne.

The match continued to flip-flop as the heavyweights eventually took to the mat.

At 189, Central’s Jason Andrews defeated Kyle Demers by a slim 7-5 decision, Eastern’s Tyrell Eason was a 12-8 decision victor against Devin Garbalosa at 215, and when the Rams’ D.J. Sanderson pinned Matt Piazza with five seconds to spare in the final period, his six points propelled the Rams to a 21-10 cushion.

But Eastern went on a bit of a run to take a five point edge in the fray as two pins and a major decision netted the Lancers 16 points over the three-pack of matches.

It all started at 103 pounds when Eastern’s Andrew Chase – one of best grapplers to ever come from the BE program – pinned Zach Mastromarino in 2:29 and teammate Josh Dess (112) followed suit with a pin-fall win over Mike Pokorny in 2:19.

And the Lancers’ final victory of the night came when Josh Dess earned a 9-0 major decision against Joe Galvin – flipping Eastern four points and a 26-21 match edge.

But the Lancers never scored again.

Central notched all the points late when Lombardi earned a 25-10 technical fall over Corey Cormier to tie the event up at 26-26.

Cyr then blanked Herbie Brown via a 3-0 decision as Central took the three points – leading the Rams to a 29-26 push.

Eastern could have tied or won the meet outright with any kind of scoring combination as the meet came down to its final match.

Vose controlled his match against Craig Sassu, earning a 7-3 decision in the end to propel the Rams to a huge 32-26 victory.

That was Central’s last win against Eastern as the Lancers have taken the past 10 showdowns between the schools.

Hopefully, the winter season can commence in 2021 with wrestling a major part of the scholastic schedule.

The fate of scholastic wrestling in Connecticut is still unknown this year due to the pandemic and the sport being categorized as ‘high risk’ by the state.

But if the schools hit the mats this season, you’ll never get lost looking at the scoreboard again.