Changing and cutting weight is a part of wrestling, and finding the right weight class can be the key to a wrestler’s success.

Determining whether an alteration in class is necessary for a wrestler can be narrowed down to two different things for NIU head coach Dave Grant.

“If being too heavy and having too much fat weight on you is slowing you down, that’s going to be a bad thing,” Grant said. “And if cutting too much weight and starving yourself does it, that’s a bad thing. We’ve got to find a happy medium.”

Several of his athletes are trying to find that medium ground with seniors Tristen DeShazer and Vince Castillo and junior Izzy Montemayor moving up in weight class this season.

Grant believes that cutting weight could have a negative effect on a wrestler; it can be overwhelming and he thinks it hurt one of this season’s early shiners for NIU.

“I think weight cutting ended up hurting [DeShazer’s] performance last year; that and the shoulder surgery,” said Grant. “He’s been able to not have to cut weight so hard all the time, and he’s been able to get into the room and train harder. His conditioning is getting better.”

DeShazer, who placed second in last weekend’s Michigan State Open, was coming off an injury and surgery from last season and felt the change was needed.

“I get to eat on a daily basis with healthy meals,” DeShazer said. “Obviously I’m not starving myself to make [141]. I weighed about the same as I did coming into this year as I did last year so it’s easier for me to go and wrestle [141] because I feel healthier. I can move better, and I’m not just dead tired from cutting so much weight.”

Wrestling at 141 last season, Castillo moved up this year, but for other reasons than cutting off the pounds.

“For the past few years, I’ve been sharing the spot in the lineup with other guys and moving up a weight class. I felt like I could solidify my spot in the lineup,” Castillo said. “I think one of the major factors was that I felt like 149 would be a better fit for me so I could stay in the lineup the whole year.”

Montemayor’s concentration may have been affected last year by the cutting, but is ready to go for this season.

“It was so hard for me last year to cut to [125] and this year is a lot easier for me,” Montemayor said. “At the time of weigh-in, I’m actually ready to wrestle and not focused on just cutting weight. I’m focusing myself on the match and what I need to do.”

Sophomore Zach Benzio, however is moving in the opposite direction of his three teammates.

The Connellsville, Pa. native, who moved to 174 from 184, was not the biggest guy in his class last season, and now has to give up a number of foods he was once accustomed to eating.

“Last year I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted to; especially dorm food,” Benzio said. “I could stay at 184 and I was a little bit small, but weight training is a little bit harder this year. Getting down to weight has been not too bad except for the last few pounds which is always difficult.”

In the entire process of changing and cutting weight, one thing stood out for the team and that was the safety, health and well-being of everyone.

The overall consensus was that their concentration and focus can now be on what actually matters.

“The idea is to wrestle and to train, and not to just cut weight all of the time,” Grant said.