Life as a college wrestling heavyweight: The nutrition, strength and conditioning strategies of 3 top athletes

Eight pounds separate the two lightest weight classes in college wrestling.

Eighty-eight pounds separate the two heaviest weights. 

For wrestlers like Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida and Michigan’s Lucas Davison, making this jump from 197 pounds to 285 pounds, from an upperweight to a heavyweight, made sense. They had outgrown the weight, and they were ready to take on the biggest men in the sport. But the process of doing this, for Davison in 2021 and for Bastida this summer, required deliberate effort, planning and commitment.

It’s a misconception, Davison said, that heavyweights can just eat anything they want to pack on the pounds. It takes dedication to fit in all of the required meals and make smart nutritional choices when adding muscle. 

There’s no rule that athletes have to weigh the full 285 pounds, either, but being too small can have consequences. In fact, journalists and coaches have commented in the past that the jump between 197 pounds and heavyweight can disadvantage athletes too big for 197 pounds but too small for 285 pounds by creating an uneven matchup in the largest weight class. 

Just to contextualize the weight disadvantage Snyder faced when he wrestled Coon, here are the NCAA weight classes. Snyder was essentially wrestling up seven weights.

He won't make excuses for this loss and knows he has a challenge ahead of him.

— Eleven Warriors (@11W)

Certainly there have been smaller heavyweights who have still excelled at the weight, and the heavyweight class, is, as a whole, becoming a faster, leaner, more athletic group. Davison's and Bastida’s wrestling styles are further proof of this shift.

But to understand how these bigger athletes navigate this weight gap and to explore the science behind their strength training, I spoke with both Bastida and Davison, as well as former Nittany Lion heavyweight and football player turned Terp Seth Nevills about their nutrition, their mindset and their approach to winning in a weight class where their opponents, quite literally, come in all shapes and sizes. 

The process of bulking up and staying up

The weight room is the obvious place an athlete would go to put on pounds and get stronger. And, when Bastida made the decision to bump up to 285 pounds and fill a spot previously held by Round of 12 finisher Sam Schuyler, he knew he’d have to spend more time pumping iron.

Bastida accepted that, and he’s embraced the challenge, but he doesn’t love the weight room. He just prefers to wrestle. 

“I like to lift but not as much as I like to wrestle. To be honest, I Iift because I have to, but I'm not like a big lifter,” Bastida said. “But now I have to like it, that's my mindset now: just get bigger, get stronger.”  

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Nevills shares this sentiment. The former Penn State wrestler and football player had grown as big as 310 pounds while representing the Nittany Lions on the gridiron, and he was in the weight room often with the Blue and White. He remembers his team making shakes for him after his lifts to help him put on weight, and he said he “felt big” during this process. 

But now that he’s back on the mat, back down under 285, wrestling full time, Nevills feels fit and happy. 

“Wrestling, that’s where my heart’s at,” Nevills said. 

The problem for these heavyweights is that, as Nevills explains, wrestling burns a lot of calories fast, so even though he came to College Park this fall as big as 310 pounds and needed to cut down to 285 pounds to compete, Nevills still has to be intentional about eating enough and eating right. 

“[People] probably just think because the guys are big, they can, you know, just hold the weight, but with how much they're sweating and, you know, losing weight, it's challenging to keep it on,” Nevills said. 

He explained that the Maryland staff "does a good job feeding” him, so he hasn’t had to worry too much about cutting weight or gaining weight since he’s arrived. He’s settled in and is now focused on staying strong and competing with the “go get ‘em” attitude that his new coaches have instilled in him. 

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Bastida carries a similar joy and intensity with him into his workouts and his daily life as a heavyweight too. 

When wrestling down at 197 pounds, Bastida would have to cut nearly 30 pounds before the season started, but now that he’s up a weight, he has recalibrated his caloric intake and meal planning, and, because of a few key changes to his nutrition, he’s been able to focus on wrestling, rather than losing weight. 

“I enjoy more life and enjoy more on the mat, the runs and everything,” Bastida said. ;

He now starts his day with a meal before practice and eats almost continuously until he goes to sleep. He said he has a meal after practice, at lunch, before afternoon practice, at dinner and then again before he goes to sleep. This schedule serves as a drastic change from his weight-cutting days, when he would be limited to two or three meals a day. 

Sheesh 👀

💻

— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR)

The increased food intake has been an adjustment, but a positive adjustment, for Bastida. He likes feeling big and strong, and he is happy wrestling up and competing against bigger guys, much like he does in freestyle when he competes for Cuba at 97kg (213.8 pounds). 

“I want to be the best wrestler I possibly can be, I don't want to be the best weight cutter”

Like Bastida and Nevills, Michigan’s Lucas Davison is also happier wrestling at heavyweight, but that doesn’t mean the process and journey has been easy for him. His days of cutting down to 197 pounds are long behind him, and he’s now a veteran at this weight, heading into his third season as a heavyweight and his sixth overall as a college wrestler, ranked No. 3 in the country, but he’s still grinding. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to win that national title. 

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Davison’s bigger change this offseason, and the change that he hopes will help him achieve that goal, has been his transfer to Michigan from Northwestern. The move has now put the Wolverine big man in one of the best heavyweight rooms in the country, training alongside 2023 Hodge Trophy winner Mason Parris, another athletic heavyweight who looked big and strong at 285 but moved like a middleweight. Parris went undefeated last season and notched wins over some of the same guys that Davison will now try to beat as he chases his own national title. 

“Mason Paris, he's been a great resource for me, and we've been wrestling really hard,” Davison said. “It's a different challenge and different workload. I was used to wrestling with a lot of 184s and 197s at Northwestern, but here I have a different practice partner for every day of the week if I want.” 

To keep his strength up for these workouts and throughout the Big Ten season, Davison, like Bastida, has made some key nutrition changes that help him recover quicker and hold on to his power. He’s been working with nutritionists and dietitians to make sure he’s getting enough food to build muscle, and while he’s quick to say that this process of putting weight on and holding strength is just as hard as cutting weight, he does admit that the process is more fun. 

“I have to sneak in some extra calorie bomb shakes and make sure I'm getting enough protein and carbs and stuff between workouts,” Davison said. “But it's fun because it really puts the emphasis back on like, you know, I want to be the best wrestler I possibly can be, I don't want to be the best weight cutter, exercise person. I don't want to be the best at running on a treadmill for hours on end. So the game is wrestling, and I get to focus on that.” 

The depth of the weight 

Davison, Bastida and Nevills all wrestled at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend, with Bastida beating Davison in the finals 5-3, and Nevills going 2-2 overall in the bracket. While the Vegas tournament provided some additional insight on where these guys stack up in one of the deepest weight classes in the country, they also each have a number of notable duals meets later in the season that will indicate just how ready they are to compete for a podium spot and chase a national title. 

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Davison, who has finished sixth and fifth in his two national tournaments up at heavyweight after becoming a Round of 16 finisher at 197 pounds the previous year, will start his conference slate against Nevills when Michigan travels to College Park on Jan. 12. The Wolverine will be a significant favorite over the transfer Terp looking to qualify for his first NCAA tournament, but the match will be a great test for Nevills against one of the best in the country. 

The Wolverines then have back-to-back rivalry duals, taking on Michigan State on Jan. 14 and Penn State on Jan. 19. The latter of those two matches will be particularly interesting for Davison, as he could see No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, a wrestler who beat him 5-3 in 2022. During the NWCA All-Star Classic, Penn State alum David Taylor commented that Greg Kerkvliet, already a lean, fast, strong heavyweight, has “trimmed down” in the off-season and now walks around 240-245 pounds but is still “built like a refrigerator” and can move well. 

Davison’s athleticism, one of the traits that he’s proud he’s maintained even while bumping up from 197 to 285, will make him a threat against Kerkvliet, even though the Nittany Lion is similarly known for his speed and power. Nevills will also get his shot at Kerkvliet in College Park on Jan. 28 when Penn State comes to town. 

Nevills and Davison both explained that the Big Ten schedule can take a toll on the body, especially for heavyweights who are looking to hold on to their strength and avoid injury, and as veterans now in their careers, they’ve taken extra time to focus on rehab and recovery. 

“I've talked to some smaller guys, and everybody has injuries that they're dealing with,” Nevills said. “But I think when you're heavyweight, you know, just getting your arms stretched out, it’s just a little bit more dangerous on your shoulders and you know, maybe a 125 pounder.” 

Turtle Power 🐢💪

— Maryland Wrestling (@TerpsWrestling)

The Big Ten has gained a reputation for being deep across all weights, but the Big 12, Bastida’s conference, won’t be much easier. He’ll have his biggest test on Jan. 6 when Iowa State is set to wrestle Arizona State, and Bastida could come head-to-head with No. 4 Cohlton Schultz, one of the biggest heavyweights in the country and someone who wrestles up at 130kg (286.5 pounds) in Greco. That’s a match that yields a clash of styles, but it’s one that heavyweight fans should be watching. Bastida will also likely have a chance to wrestle No. 5 Zach Elam in the Missouri vs. Iowa State dual on Feb. 25, just before the Big 12 tournament. 

Bastida has looked so tough up at 285 pounds, and he’ll be a new test for most of his opponents, given that he didn’t wrestle at this weight last year. He’s someone who takes his new role as the Cyclone big man seriously, and he’s ready to chase a national title in a weight 88 pounds heavier than the one he wrestled last year. 

If he wins, he’ll be celebrating with his favorite meal: rice and beans.