I think the best thing we can do is rely on and encourage integrity in our coaches. The problem with hard and fast rules for novices has been mentioned before. Placing in an open tournament is VERY subjective, depending on the size and competition of the bracket. I don't think anyone would argue that a novice who placed 3rd in a four-man open bracket should be kicked out of novice, but what if a wrestler is in one of those very heavy or very light weights and can not help but be a consistent placer? On paper it may look like they should not wrestle novice, but in reality they may very well be a true novice.
Also, some coaches totally segregate their novice and open wrestlers, as well as the tournaments in which they wrestle. This is a philosophy with which you can agree or disagree, but some wrestlers with a lot of potential can outgrow novice in the first year ethically, but technically they can still be entered for another year if they are wrestling nothing but novice. The philosophy I prefer is to mix novice and opens according to the skill and mindset of the wrestler. A 1st year wrestler who is tentative or easily discouraged may need to do more novice tournaments to get his or her feet wet, but ought to go to a couple of opens to see what it will be like when they leave novice. A 1st year hotshot who is self-confident may only need 2 or 3 novice tournaments before they are ready to challenge themselves more consistently in opens.
I think the "no state qualifiers" rule is the best rule for novice tournament qualification.
