BRIEFLY : RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON NCAA WRESTLERS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The NCAA, jarred by the recent deaths of three wrestlers trying to make their weight classes, announced rule changes Tuesday that put new restrictions on the ways wrestlers shed pounds to make weight.

Among the changes, effective immediately:

Wrestlers may not use saunas for water loss, and rubber suits and diuretics cannot be used for any reason. NCAA rules already bar laxatives, fluid restriction, self-induced vomiting, hot rooms, hot boxes and steam rooms for dehydration.

For the rest of this season only, a seven-pound weight allowance has been added to all weight classes, which already have a one-pound allowance.

For example, for the 118-pound class, wrestlers may weigh as much as 126 pounds. But as of Feb. 1, when the one-pound allowance ends, seven pounds will be added to each weight class, making 125 pounds the upper limit of the 118-pound class. The rule is effective only for the rest of this season and is expected to be reviewed when NCAA rules officials meet in April.

All weigh-ins will be held no more than two hours before a match, cutting down the time athletes have to lose weight.

The NCAA Division I board of directors also decided to have high schools begin deciding which of their courses meet the NCAA core-course requirements for freshman-eligibility standards.

The process now is done by the NCAA's clearinghouse, which receives course titles sent in by the athlete and the high school and then determines whether incoming freshmen are academically eligible to play sports.

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