CLOSE-UP : Silvestro Wrestles With His Weight Before Going to the Mat for Simi Valley in Marmonte League Finals

The Southern Section weigh-ins for wrestlers have never been known for excitement, but competitors often go through hectic last-minute training before they ever step on the scale.

To make weight, some athletes go without food for days. Others double their jogging schedule or train 10 hours a day in a steamy weight room.

Simi Valley’s Andy Silvestro is no exception.

The 6-1 senior is one of the top high school wrestlers in the area, but Silvestro had to lose seven pounds in five days last week to reach his goal of 193 pounds--the cutoff from the 194-pound-and-over heavyweight division.

“I’m just cutting down on my eating right now,” Silvestro said before the weigh-in. “Instead of eating a big meal for dinner, I settle for a baked potato.”

Silvestro’s weight has been the topic of conversation among Marmonte League coaches because other wrestlers would like nothing better than to avoid a showdown with Silvestro in the league finals.

This season Silvestro has a 14-0 record and 11 pins in the heavyweight division. In the 32-team El Rancho Tournament, he needed only 15 seconds to pin his opponent in the final.

He also was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 19-team Newbury Park Tournament and won the heavyweight division at the Chaparral Tournament in Las Vegas.

Silvestro relishes a challenge.

As a sophomore, he had to face 175-pound Ross Boomhower of Newbury Park, who is now at Moorpark College. Earlier in the year at the 191-pound level, Boomhower erased Silvestro, 15-0. A few months later, Silvestro pinned Boomhower midway through the third period after building a 16-13 lead. Silvestro since has gone unbeaten in league matches.

“That single match turned around the whole dual meet,” Greene said. “We didn’t think Andy had a chance against that guy, but Andy doesn’t wrestle that way. He thinks he’s going to win every match, even if the guy killed him before.”