As I read these posts I felt I could not keep silent. Although I agree that the overall quality of officiating was good this weekend, 10 seconds of one match has left a sour taste in our mouths and stripped our son of his opportunity to wrestle for the state championship. He was down 7-4 with less than 10 seconds left in the match, hit a great move putting his opponent on his back. Despite the lack of time left in the match, the ref took his time getting to the mat but still gave a clear two count before time expired. We were all celebrating because we thought he had won the match 8-7 but the official only awarded the reversal not the two back points. Our coach challenged as he clearly saw the two count as well as anyone else who was watching that match, but the referee disregarded the challenge
saying " I know what I counted and it was one."

We immediately watched the video and clear as day our son steps over putting the kid flat on the mat and there is one whole second before the ref even starts counting and then he makes two clear two counts and then gets tapped to end the match. The sad thing about the whole situation is that it wasn't a judgement call at all but instead a clear two count that should have resulted in two back points. Our other concern was that the second official did nothing. He had to have seen the two count. What is the point of having a second official if it doesn't matter. This was the semi-final match at the State Championships, it would make sense that the officials would want to make the right call. This very young ref did not even consider or listen to our coach's concern or ask the other official, he ignored the comment.

The young man that went on to the finals is a fine wrestler and my comments are not meant to take anything away from his accomplishments and efforts. My son recovered from the loss and went on to place third but the sting of that match still stayed with him. He made the comment that he would rather have the opportunity to wrestle for a state title and lose than to win two more matches and place third.

Lisa Penka