A weight warning

The PIAA will be instituting a new way to determine weight certification next season. It has adopted a national high school federation guideline that will help determine a wrestler's lowest weight through a hydration test. The test, along with the measuring of body fat, will determine the lowest weight he can wrestle.

If a wrestler comes in for certification and the hydration test determines he needs to be at a higher weight, then that will be where he competes.

The test is supposed to be given at the beginning of the season and a weight chart will be kept throughout the season, updated on a weekly basis. Trainers at most high schools are now being certified to give the hydration tests and schools will have to pay for the equipment needed for testing.

One of the unintended pluses of the hydration test is that it will virtually eliminated certain steroids from the sport. Many steroids derive their benefits by allowing water to be trapped into the body's tissue and that allows muscles to form quicker. The hydration test is supposed to gause the water in your system so that should discourage athletes, from middleweight on down, from using steroids.