LOL!!!! You caught me. I have no clue what wrestling is.

I think with the style of wrestler Jesse is, he was able to prevent himself from being tossed while pushing Chris out. And there's no doubt in my mind Chris was hanging on for double overtime. I think a lot of wrestlers would do the same thing.

Quit blaming losses on the ref. It's the job of the wrestler to take the match out of the hands of the official and get the job done. If you noticed, the 2 matches this ref did for finals, were probably 2 of the biggest matches. 189 and 140. I'm sure this was done because he is one of the best!

If he is one of the best, then officiating in Kansas is in a sad situation. Sometimes, when 2 great ones go at it, you can't prevent the ref. from being able to ruin the match. That whole cliche about "don't put yourself in a situation where the ref. can determine the match." is also used by people who have no clue what wrestling is all about.

Well it is obvious you have no idea how to not get thrown.

You guys definitely caught me. I'm probably one of the worst people in the wrestling world when it comes to knowledge. And I do get thrown quite frequently. You guys should probably come wrestle for Newman and take my spot on the roster.

I thought it was wrong to call stalling with one second left in overtime, but on the other hand, I also thought that Kearn did not earn a takedown at the end of the third period with his headlock. I thought it was clear that Strawn scrambled out and Kearn never gained complete control. Therfore I believe that Strawn deserved the match in regulation so it still ended up going to the right wrestler. It was definately a tough decision for the referee.

The stalling call in OT was obviously not warranted. However, I thought the worst call was the 1st stall call on Sutton-Kearn. Strawn was riding a spiral-half when he got dinged. That was the most exciting match I have ever seen, with two unbelievable wrestlers giving 110%. There was more action in that match than in all the finals matches combined. Stalling needs to be re-evaluated if it can get called so frequently in a match like that one.

The official that called this match is a very good official. He is consistent and knowledgeable of the rule book. He is respected throughout the state. Stalling and fleeing the mat are in the rule book and should be enforced. Time has no bearing on when stalling is called during a match. This is stated in the rule book. The official has a very tough job as he is looking from neutral eyes. Making a tough line call for a takedown or reversal is no different then making a tough stalling call. There are 6+ minutes in a match. The official does not determine a winner or loser the wrestlers do. The wrestler chose to stall and the official did his job and enforced the rule. It would have been an injustice to the other wrestler if he would not have made the call. The old rally call of "Let the wrestlers decide it" was followed when the call was made... the wrestler chose to stall.

Terry Hilton is one of the best officials in Kansas. He is consistent and fair. While it is unfortunate that a match ended on a stall point, I feel that he was doing his job correctly. Officials do not make calls based on the situation of the match, they make calls in accordance with the rules. Officials do not nmake calls to please the crowd, if they did, that would be unethical. If he feels that Sutton-Kern was stalling, then that is his judgement. Officials by rule cannot make judgements based on the score or the situation. They make decisions on what they see and Hilton is one of the best at doing that. He officiates the wrestling not the tempo of the match. The comments regarding Hiltons height and ethics are uncalled for. This is a place to discuss the exciting match, not bash an individual. Hilton is one of the most respectable and friendly people I have been involved with in wrestling.

Hilton's call was a joke and if he can sleep at night, he has no soul.

This brings up a point that has been bugging me since Saturday. Why do they not have towel tappers at state? I saw at least 6 or 7 instances where the 2nd ref didn't see the clock expire, and there was possible scoring action taking place after time was gone. If there's a tapper there with his hand on the ref's back, he knows immediately when the clock reaches zero.

So a KS ref blew the match of the century and took the air out of the place and made the crowd hostile. You're kidding me? That happened in KS?

Theman,

If you are going to insist on berating an official who is well respected by both coaches and other officials around this state, myself included, the least you can do is have the dignity to indentify yourself.

Its real easy to make critical comments when you are anonymous. You make it sound as if they just throw officials names into a hat up there at KSHSAA to pick refs for State. These refs are recommended by the Admins and coaches of high schools around the state. Granted a few of them make it in on name alone, I don't believe Terry is one of these.

My best recommendation for you theman, is first put your name on your posts and stop acting cowardly, second put on the strips and grab a whistle then go out a referee a tournament or two then get back to us on just how easy it is to make the calls that officials have to make every week. Heck I'll even give you the $40 to get yourself registered next year.

On the Peterson-Dooley situation did you pay attention as to how much space was inbetween those two wrestlers?

Or somewhat close to zero at least.

the only good call the whole tournament was the Eck quarterfinal and the 160 conso finals!

********************SWISH********************

I thought the 189 pound match was simply amazing and full of action. It was awesome to see the fans so into a match. As a fan watching that match, the chills and goose bumps I experienced watching those two guys give it their all were immediately replaced by a sick feeling as I watch in amazement as an official determined the outcome. I felt so sorry for Chris and also sorry for Jesse who found himself having to apologize for the way he won.

Sorry to say this, but in my honest opinion, it was too good of match with too much great action to end that way.

That match had more action than any match all weekend and the official managed to fabricate 2 stalling calls on Chris??? I know officiating is tough and I've always managed to deal with calls that I don't agree with, but the sick feeling that call gave me is hard to deal with (and I was only a neutral party watching a great match).

I felt that a match that could have turned so many casual fans into hardcore wrestling fans was ended in a way that will turn people off to our sport instead of turning more people on to wrestling. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear the comments I heard in the stands and as I walked out of the arena may mean I'm right.

I'd like to end with a big congrats to Jesse and Chris for participating in what had the potential to be the greatest match of all time. (You two did all you could to make it that way).

RICK I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE I ALSO WAS NEUTRAL FAN AND THAT MATCH SHOULD HAVE BEEN DETERMINED IN DOUBLE O.T., CHRIS WAS NOT FLEEING THE MAT , I USED TO OFFICIATE AND NOT THAT I NEVER MADE ANY BAD CALLS, BUT THERE IS NO WAY IN THIS WORLD THAT CALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE. THAT SAME OFFICIAL MADE A SIMULAR CALL EARLIER IN THE TOURNAMENT. I WAS JUST SICK TO MY STOMACH AFTER THE MATCH. TAKE NOTHING AWAY FROM JESSE ,AND HE DID NOT DESERVE TO BE BOOED ON THE MEDAL STAND, THE REF SHOULD HAVE BEEN BOOED OUT OF EVER OFFICIATING A STATE TOURNAMENT AGAIN. CONGRATS TO CHRIS AND JESSE YOU BOTH ARE TRUE CHAMPS.

Rick, excellent post.....exactly right.