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When a high school wrestler steps onto the mat, it’s just him and his opponent. There are no other people or factors to worry about.
That’s not the case for Canandaigua’s Andrew Belding. The senior, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12, can be negatively affected by abnormal blood sugar levels on the mat.
“He just had the flu for a weekend, but he got really sick, so we took him to Thompson Hospital and they ran tests on him, checked his blood sugar and it was almost 900,” Andrew’s father Richard Belding said. “They ended up having to take him up to Strong [Memorial Hospital] to get his sugar down.”
Since then, Andrew has needed to keep a close watch on his blood sugar levels throughout the day and use insulin to keep it where it needs to be.
However, his blood sugar isn’t easy to control for matches. Andrew thinks the adrenaline and nerves that come before wrestling can cause his blood sugar to spike.
“It affects my performance,” Andrew said. “If I have a low before the match, it makes me feel really weak. If my blood sugar is high before the match, it just puts me at a disadvantage because I feel like I’m in another world almost.”
His father believes it cost him a few matches he should’ve won this year.
Andrew didn’t wrestle as a junior, but dedicated himself to working out at the gym last winter. He got stronger and was bench pressing 345 pounds before returning to the wrestling team this year.
In the past, staying at the right weight was a challenge for Andrew, but this year he’s comfortable in the 182-pound weight class.
“He probably could wrestle at 170 pounds, he only weighs 174, but we don’t want to do that,” Canandaigua coach Rich Romeo said. “We don’t want him dehydrating at all. With the diabetes we don’t want him losing any weight.”
Andrew is having a strong season for the Braves with a 16-12 record going into Sectionals on Friday and Saturday at Wayne Central. He took third at Canandaigua’s annual Robert Bradshaw Wrestling Invitational and pinned Victor’s John Novitsky in the second round at a dual meet to help the Braves knock off the Blue Devils 38-28 and win the Monroe County Division III League title.
“The fact that he did come back out and is probably going to achieve a 20 win season is something he should be proud of it in retrospect,” Romeo said. “A lot of kids wouldn’t have come out for the team.”
Andrew is going to attend WyoTech in Blairsville, Pa., next fall to study diesel mechanics and high performance engine rebuilds.
When a high school wrestler steps onto the mat, it’s just him and his opponent. There are no other people or factors to worry about.
That’s not the case for Canandaigua’s Andrew Belding. The senior, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12, can be negatively affected by abnormal blood sugar levels on the mat.
“He just had the flu for a weekend, but he got really sick, so we took him to Thompson Hospital and they ran tests on him, checked his blood sugar and it was almost 900,” Andrew’s father Richard Belding said. “They ended up having to take him up to Strong [Memorial Hospital] to get his sugar down.”
Since then, Andrew has needed to keep a close watch on his blood sugar levels throughout the day and use insulin to keep it where it needs to be.
However, his blood sugar isn’t easy to control for matches. Andrew thinks the adrenaline and nerves that come before wrestling can cause his blood sugar to spike.
“It affects my performance,” Andrew said. “If I have a low before the match, it makes me feel really weak. If my blood sugar is high before the match, it just puts me at a disadvantage because I feel like I’m in another world almost.”
His father believes it cost him a few matches he should’ve won this year.
Andrew didn’t wrestle as a junior, but dedicated himself to working out at the gym last winter. He got stronger and was bench pressing 345 pounds before returning to the wrestling team this year.
In the past, staying at the right weight was a challenge for Andrew, but this year he’s comfortable in the 182-pound weight class.
“He probably could wrestle at 170 pounds, he only weighs 174, but we don’t want to do that,” Canandaigua coach Rich Romeo said. “We don’t want him dehydrating at all. With the diabetes we don’t want him losing any weight.”
Andrew is having a strong season for the Braves with a 16-12 record going into Sectionals on Friday and Saturday at Wayne Central. He took third at Canandaigua’s annual Robert Bradshaw Wrestling Invitational and pinned Victor’s John Novitsky in the second round at a dual meet to help the Braves knock off the Blue Devils 38-28 and win the Monroe County Division III League title.
“The fact that he did come back out and is probably going to achieve a 20 win season is something he should be proud of it in retrospect,” Romeo said. “A lot of kids wouldn’t have come out for the team.”
Andrew is going to attend WyoTech in Blairsville, Pa., next fall to study diesel mechanics and high performance engine rebuilds.
