Weight class 106, 113, 120, 126. Each time a dual or tournament approaches, wrestlers step on a scale to be divided into categories based on weight. For some wrestlers, staying in shape and eating healthy foods to meet a particular weight class is a year-long practice. For others, it can be a last minute binge and diet.
“You eat a lot of lean meats, chickens, turkeys, not a lot of heavy foods, not a lot of sugars, a lot of proteins. I just have to watch the food I eat,” said senior Ty Mervin. “This year I’m going 138. Last year I was 126.”
Mervin has been wrestling for four years, and learned to adapt healthier eating habits, rather than “cut” weight last minute.
Junior Baylor Frangella, however, aimed to change his diet to lose five pounds within a month before the season started.
“I didn’t have to, I just chose to,” Frangella said. “It’s not difficult, you just have to be dedicated to it.”
Frangella aimed to be in the same weight class he was in last year, 113, saying that he was aiming to be certified in the same weight class, “because I’ll probably be really successful at regionals” by doing so.
Practice and workouts are extensive for wrestlers, too. Wrestling practice is from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Most wrestlers, like Mervin, workout afterwards or in the morning, along with their daily practice.
“I do practice everyday, and I workout in the morning,” Mervin said.
Like Mervin, senior Colin Vazquez said that he doesn’t eat differently out of season than he does when wrestling, and practices regularly.
“I watch my weight a lot. I’m only four pounds overweight,” Vazquez said. “I’ll honestly just work harder to work off food. My mom’s really healthy.”
Vazquez said that he was on the scale everyday, out of season, monitoring his weight, and runs in the morning, as well as going to the gym after practice.
Sophomore Adam Aguilar, on the other hand, planned to lose ten pounds for the season just weeks before practice started.
“I was losing about ten pounds when I started,” Aguilar said. “You have to eat a strict diet, no junk food.”
Although some wrestlers aim to end up in a certain weight class by dieting and exercising, ultimately, it isn’t critical to their performance.