I have been a registered official in Kansas for almost 20 years and I agree that a referee should not decide the outcome of a match. However, I feel the referees in KS don't call stalling enough. The rule for stalling is simple. I will paraphrase but the rule states that both wrestlers must make an attempt to improve his situation reguardless of the score or time of the match. Referees need to improve on calling the top man for stalling. Most referees look to the bottom man to initiate the action. The objective of wrestling is to pin your opponent. The referees allow the top wrestler to sit on the bottom mans ankle and ride way too long. You are not going to turn your opponent unless you get to the side, therefore freeing the bottom mans legs. An exception would be a 3/4 nelson stack, but howmany of those do we see at state.
Stalling should also be called more while the wrestlers are on their feet. Too many time we see wrestlers play the edge of the matt. The rule says you must try to stay in the 10 foot circle. Furthermore, if you cut you opponent loose you are in a sence saying you can take him down again so you should be busy with takedowns, low level attacks or upper body. To make the situation worse many officials stop the action when one of the wrestlers has one foot on the line. Again the rule states as long as the supporting points of either wrestler are inbounds wrestling should continue. I feel the referees are protecting themselves from making a close call on the edge of the mat. By doing this they reduce the mat size considerably, especially for the upper weights.
The referee should not decide the outcome of the match but they need to be more persasive in making the wrestlers decide the outcome on their own.
