The event featured 13 teams, with seven runners allowed to compete on each varsity squad. So that made it about a 91-runner field running on a three-mile dirt course. There was a kaleidoscope of colors in the starting boxes, with a variety of shades from electric green to pale blue as the runners jogged in place to keep warm.

The wide gamut of jersey colors, I knew, would make it easier to identify the teams from a distance. I positioned us at a good vantage point where we could see virtually the entire course.

After the start, my friend intently watched the race leaders, noted the tight pack of 20 or so runners out front in the initial half mile, then commented on how the out-front contingent had shrunk to about three athletes at the midway point. Then, he really got into it, clapping as the top two sprinted to the finish in the final quarter mile with the winner pulling away in the last 200 yards or so.

"That was fun," said my friend as the first runner walked down the chute to the scoring table.

But then he turned and started walking back to the car. From his perspective, the race was over. The individual winner had crossed the finish line. Everybody else still out on the course were just also-rans.

"Wait, it's not over yet," I told him.

He came back, his brow slightly furrowed with an unspoken, "What are you talking about?"

So, it was that I was able to explain to him, between taking notes, about the most intriguing part of cross country, namely the team aspect of the sport. I told him about how the top five runners on each team score based on their finishes, how a first-place finisher garners one point, and a 10th-placer gets 10 points, and how the points, through adding up the team's top five finishers, generates the team score.

Just like in golf, the low score wins in cross country. A team seeks the perfect score of 15, which would mean it concluded the race with its runners occupying all the positions from first through fifth (1+2+3+4+5=15).

I also told him about how the sixth runner on each team is used to break a tie.

Knowing those rules can make the sport so much more interesting and exciting. The nuances really are no more extreme than the multitude of intricacies in football, which is a highly popular sport mainly because the particulars of football have become such an integral part of our culture.

I'm convinced that sports like cross country would be more popular if their specifics were widely realized.

Wrestling

That's also why, at this point of the season with the high school district and state tournaments right around the corner, I thought a review of how points, particularly team points, are scored in wrestling could make those competitions, and the intervening duals, far more interesting and exciting for parents, fans and even the wrestlers themselves.

Let's start with the basics.

Wrestlers — within an individual, head-to-head weight-class match — get two, three or four points for a near fall based on the time span the opponent is in jeopardy of being pinned, two points for a takedown or reversal, and one point for an escape. After these points are added up for a total after three 2-minute periods, the winning grappler — this is during a dual, mind you — earns six points for his team for a pin or via a win by default or forfeit, or five points for a technical fall (a victory by a 15-point spread, and the match ends when that spread is attained), four points for a major decision (a win with a spread from eight to 14 points) or three points for a decision (by a spread of seven points or less).

For tournaments, including state, it's a bit more complicated. Scott Evans, the New Mexico Activities Association assistant director in charge of wrestling matters, helped by giving me a little refresher course.

The following New Mexico Federation of High School Associations wrestling rules hold true for individual-format tournaments (not duals) and are applicable regardless of the size of the tournament, unless otherwise noted.

Prior to the final round (like the first-, third- and fifth-place matches), wrestlers get two points for every advancement in the championship bracket and one point for advancing in the consolation bracket. On top of that, winners at every pre-finals match get two additional points for a fall (otherwise known as a pin) or win by default or forfeit, 1 1/2 points for a technical fall and one point for a major decision.

Then for the placers, they earn points based on their finishes. For tournaments, like state, that award through sixth place, the champion gets 16 points, and the runner-up garners 12. Third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishers respectively get nine, seven, five and three points tacked on at the end.

What can be confusing is that the athletes vying for first- and second-place automatically get the 12 points for second place immediately after their semifinals victories. Then, the ultimate winner gets the extra four points after the win.

That is also the case with the other matches determining the lower placements. The points derived are somewhat less for tourneys that produce only four places.

Now, wasn't that fun? Well, maybe not entirely. But this bit of knowledge will help you understand what's actually happening out there at the multiring circus called the state tournament on Feb. 19-20.

Smith can be reached at 823-7104 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .