Billy Jack Saylor changed the sport of wrestling forever on Nov. 7, 1997.
The 19-year-old freshman at Campell University in North Carolina, one of only 35 three-time Florida state wrestling champions, died of cardiac arrest amidst a grueling training session. Saylor, who captured the 215-pound state title as a Suwanee High School senior, reportedly lost 19 pounds in four days with hopes of cutting another six in order to wrestle at 190 pounds.
“I had the privilege of chairing the NCAA wrestling committee, “said Mike Moyer, now executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. “And back in 1997 we had three wrestlers die within a 33-day period while in training activities. It was an incredibly dark period for our sport.”
Saylor’s death was followed by University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse senior Joe LaRosa’s death from heat exhaustion exactly two weeks later, and Michigan junior Jeff Reese’s death of heart malfunction and kidney failure on Dec. 9, 1997. All three deaths occurred during weight-cutting exercises.
The wrestling community was rocked to its core, resulting in widespread rule changes. The most important of which was the development of an Internet-based Optimal Performance Calculator (OPC) by the NWCA and its adoption by all forms of collegiate wrestling.
The Florida High School Athletic Association adopted the OPC last season, making its use mandatory this season.
“It’s a national rule going into affect next year, “FHSAA director of athletics Paul McLaughlin said. “Our Coaches Advisory Committee realized that three years ago and reacted accordingly.”
The OPC requires all wrestlers to become certified at a minimum wrestling weight, based on seven percent body fat for boys and 12 percent for girls, prior to competition. Any wrestler who doesn’t meet the minimum body-fat percentage must present a licensed physician’s clearance stating that percentage is natural for the athlete. Certification also includes a hydration test.
After the certification, a wrestler is only allowed to lose 1.5 percent of his or her weight per week and can never wrestle below the minimum weight determined by the OPC.
“Our goal was to take the focus off of weight loss and put it back on competition, “Moyer said. “When wrestlers went to practice, the No. 1 goal was to make weight, and the No. 2 goal was to get better.
“What we’ve seen happen in college, and I fully expect it to happen in high school, is we’ve seen our wrestlers healthier all year round.”
The OPC also calculates dietary information for each of the 150,000-plus individuals enrolled at the high school and collegiate levels. Every coach and wrestler has a password to the NWCA’s Web site (NWCAonline.com) in order to access the information whenever necessary.
“Our Web site automatically assigns the wrestlers to daily goals for fats, carbohydrates, proteins and calories, “Moyer said. “From there, the wrestlers and parents can create a customized menu to reach their desired weight.”
Ideally, the healthier the athletes become, the healthier the sport will be.
The OPC is being used in some capacity by 28 states this season, Moyer said.
“This puts the 50-50 rule out to pasture, “McLaughlin said of the previous standard.
The 50-50 rule allowed an individual to wrestle at any weight class as long as he or she weighed in at the desired weight in at least 50 percent of their competitions that season. The rule allowed for drastic weight cutting throughout the season, the likes of which killed Saylor, LaRosa and Reese in 1997.
Weight cutting, however, hasn’t been completely eliminated. Now it’s just isolated to one all-important weigh-in at the start of the season.
“There’s definitely a bigger rush at the beginning of the season, “said first-year Port Charlotte coach Tristan Boyd, who used the system while wrestling at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. “But it’s a starting point, and you’re never going to start out perfect. But you’ve got to get started somewhere.”
Boyd also said the rules, as listed in the FHSAA manual, aren’t as clear as they need to be.
“I’ll be honest, I think there’s a lot of places reading through the entire manual that leaves you scratching your head, “Boyd said. “There is a certain degree of ambiguity. You just have to talk to your fellow coaches and try to figure everything out as much as possible.”
Moyer and McLaughlin understand the system isn’t perfect and that there will be small adjustments made in the early stages of the conversion.
“The weight-loss culture of our sport has developed over 75 years, “Moyer said. “So we’re not going to change it in 75 days. It’s going to take some time.”
You can e-mail Eric McKinney at emckinney@sun-herald@com.
By ERIC McKINNEY
Wrestling Gear
