Reece Humphrey – Heading Home & Hitting the Home Stretch

Indiana state champ hopes to be next Ohio State national champ

Ohio State senior Reece Humphrey is headed home this weekend as the Buckeyes are scheduled to hit the road to face Indiana and Purdue in Big Ten dual meet action. Humphrey, a native of Indianapolis, was a three-time Indiana state champion for Lawrence North HS. Now a three-time national qualifier and a returning NCAA finalist for the Buckeyes Reece is a position to go down as one of the best in OSU history.

For Humphrey the decision to leave Hoosier state for college was not difficult.

“I don’t know if there was another school I would have went to other than Ohio State,” said Reece Humphrey when asked about making the choice.

Being the son of a former OSU wrestler was one of many things that made it an easy decision.

“Both my mom and dad went to Ohio State, my dad was a captain here, my brother was already on the team, and my dad was going to be on staff. I had been a Buckeye fan my entire life, we went to football games as a family,” said Reece.

His father Jim Humphrey wasn’t just a wrestler he was a member of the OSU Athletic Hall. A Big Ten champion and a 1972 NCAA All-American for the Buckeyes he also met his wife Adrienne when they were undergraduates at Ohio State. Jim went on to even greater fame as a five-time US freestyle champion, a World Silver medalist, and as a coach of numerous Olympic and US National Teams over the years**.

"They didn't know much about my wrestling. We didn't have trophies and pictures at the house, so they knew very little about my success," offered Jim Humphrey of his early influence on his sons Jordin and Reece.

"It was important for me that they choose wrestling. I know how hard it is, you can't do it for your father or grandfather; you have to wrestle for yourself."

Following in the footsteps of his older brother instead of his father Reece started wrestling in junior high and was a state champion as a high school sophomore. He went on to win two more and led the Wildcats to a pair of team state championships in 2004 and 2005. Humphrey finished his career 177-7 winning his last 137 matches in a row.

Since arriving at Ohio State Reece hasn’t done a lot of looking back. He wrestled varsity and was a 2006 national qualifier as a true freshman, redshirted during an injury-plagued sophomore year, and has came back and showed continued improvement each of the last three years. Back in the lineup as a redshirt sophomore in 2008 he made it to the round of twelve at nationals and followed it up with a trip to the NCAA finals in 2009.

Now a fifth-year senior a four-year starter for the Buckeyes Reece Humphrey is hitting the home stretch of what will likely be his own Hall of Fame career.

Earlier this season Reece became the third OSU wrestler in the last three years to reach the 100 win club at Ohio State joining former teammates JD Bergman (129-2008) and J Jaggers (109-2009). Lance Palmer made it four with his 100th win against Hofstra on January 3 and Mike Pucillo can make it five with 90 career wins entering the weekend.

Over the past two years Humphrey has went an impressive 51-6. Last season he finished second at the 2009 Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments at 133 pounds. Taking home some hardware Reece was the Outstanding Wrestler at the 2009 National Duals and won individual titles at the Buffalo and NC State Open. This year he moved up to 141 and is ranked second with a 21-2 record with titles at the Oklahoma Gold and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

In what seems like a year ago, Reece hit the century mark back in November with a 5-3 decision over NAIA champion Adam Koballa at the 2009 Buckeye Duals. Two months later he is rapidly approaching the all-time top-ten for career wins in thirteenth with a 114-35 overall record.

“The goals this season have not and will not change,” Reece responded when asked to put his accomplishments into perspective. “Records and awards are nice when you are done wrestling, but the goals are to win a Big Ten title and a national championship, I want to help the team do the same.”

Ohio State placed second at the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Tournaments.

No matter how the season ends for Humphrey wrestling will continue to be his future. A two-time University freestyle national champion, Reece won the Silver medal at the 2008 University World Championships and most recently placed fourth at the 2009 US World Team Trials. He will be making a run at the 2012 Olympics in London after graduation.

“We are proud to have Reece Humphrey as a captain,” said OSU head coach Tom Ryan.

“He is an unbelievable athlete, a great wrestler, and a leader of this team. Wrestling is a lifestyle for Reece and that is something that can be contagious."

"We’ll definitely miss him after this year and hope that he is able to stay in Columbus and close to the program while he his training for Olympic Gold in 2012.”

Heading back to Indiana this weekend could be Reece’s last chance to wrestle in his home state unless there is a Senior level event there at some point in the future. As it stands the 2010 Big Ten Tournament is in Ann Arbor and the 2010 NCAA Tournament is in Omaha, Nebraska. The Buckeyes are counting on him to do well at both.

“I have always looked forward to wrestling in Indiana,” said Humphrey when speaking of wrestling in the Hoosier state. “I have a lot of good memories and still have a lot of friends and family there.”

“Around the Mat” with Reece Humphrey & Tom Ryan

We caught up with Reece on Wednesday to discuss the Buckeyes weekend road trip to the Hoosier state. He spoke about his Indiana roots, making the choice to wrestle at Ohio State, his OSU career, and what he is going to do to end the year on top of the podium. We were also able to speak with Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan to talk about his senior captain, the impact Humphrey has had on the program, and what Reece has to do to end his career where he wants.

Ohio State Records Watch: Career Wins

**Notes on Jim Humphrey

Humphrey was the Head Coach of 1988 US Olympic team and the 1984 Canadian Olympic team (1984). He has been the Head Coach of the US Senior World Team, US Pan Am Team, US Junior World Team, Canadian World Team Head Coach, and Canadian Pan Am Team. Jim was also the Head Coach of Thee Buckeye Wrestling Club, at Indiana University, and for Team Foxcatcher. He was an assistant coach at Ohio State University and at Oklahoma.