Weight cutting has always been the "black eye" of wrestling. It creates more negativity and controversy than anything else in the sport. As with any sport, I think the idea is to reduce you body fat as low as possible without compromising any muscle. (Weight control)This is to try to reach optimal performance. An exception might be for an athlete to make a spot on the team. However, most of the weight classes in high school wrestling are only 5-8 pounds apart. If you deprive your body of water or food then you are taking away the fuel your body needs to perform. Your body will be forced take the only souce it can find which is usually muscle. There is no way you can perform at an optimal level by doing this. If you lose muscle by cutting weight than you have really negated the reason for losing weight in the first place. The idea should be to become a good enough wrestler though skill and conditioning, that you can win regardless of weight class.