Aside from gamesmanship, I don’t think it’s fair to penalize the wrestler who showed up either. Just seems logically, if an advancement point on the backside is worth half, the bonus points should be too.
I could get onboard with reducing bonus point values in consolations, cutting them in half just as they do advancement points, especially given the greater likelihood of Ferrari-ing out. Would take some getting used to seeing .25 and .75 points in the team scores.
I was one of those high schoolers. Sat on the floor 2 rows back from the mat. What an incredible memory. And a few weeks later PSU knocked off Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Kurt Bernier sat right behind my father and brother in the west stands at the match and had himself quite a game on special teams.
Having attended a neighboring school during his final years of coaching, he always struck me as very down to earth despite his success. I remember him always personally swabbing the mat ahead of the start sectional finals when held at Dallastown.