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Wrestling
Buckeye Wrestlers Represent at 2008 University Games
Nikko Triggas and Reece Humphrey win National Championships
By Kevin Schlosser

(Akron, Ohio)This past weekend the University of Akron hosted the 2008 University Nationals. Eleven different Ohio State wrestlers entered the competition and two won national titles in their weight classes. OSU freshman Nikko Triggas won a Greco-Roman national title on Friday and sophomore Reece Humphrey won a Freestyle national title on Sunday. Overall eight different Buckeyes earned at least one win.

Nikko Triggas
Photo by Kevin Schlosser

Both Triggas and Humphrey won titles, but only Triggas will advance to the 2008 Olympic Trials as Humphrey competed in a weight class that will not be represented in Beijing, China. Each individual University champion will advance to the 2008 University Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado between May 23-24. The 2008 University World Championships will be held in July 9-13 in Greece. The University Games are open to athletes that are 18 to 24 years old.

The title won by Triggas did not come out of nowhere. He has extensive national and international experience; an 11-time US All-American, he won a Greco-Roman gold medal at the 2007 Junior Pan Am Games. With future aspirations to be an Olympic wrestler, this is an enormous opportunity for Triggas. The 2008 Olympic Trials will be held in Las Vegas between June 13-15. Triggas will be one of the younger wrestlers if not the youngest competitor at his weight; so he can expect to be challenged in every match. Triggas won two matches but did not place in the Freestyle Tournament.

Reece Humphrey
Photo by Kevin Schlosser

Humphrey competed in both the Greco-Roman and Freestyle Tournaments at 63 kg (138.75 lbs). He began the weekend by placing third in Greco-Roman and completed it by winning six-straight matches to earn his Freestyle title. Humphrey will join Triggas in making the trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for the University Team Trials and will compete in both styles. Reece is the son of former OSU All-American and coach Jim Humphrey. His father was a 1979 World Silver Medalist and a former US and Canadian Olympic coach.

With the two national championships won by Triggas and Humphrey; six different wrestlers associated with the Ohio State program have earned national titles in the last year. Current assistant coaches Joe Heskett and Tommy Rowlands were 2007 US Senior national champions while J Jaggers and Mike Pucillo won 2008 NCAA championships. Both Triggas and Humphrey were 2008 NCAA qualifiers for OSU.

Several Buckeye wrestlers had strong performances over the weekend but did not place including Will Livingston, Sean Nemec, and Colt Sponseller. Livingston won five matches and fell one victory short of earning All-American status at 60 kg (132.25 lbs); Nemec and Sponseller both won four matches and were two wins away from placing at 74 kg (163 lbs). Also earning Freestyle victories were Pat Harrington (60 kg), Pat Zamaria (60 kg), and Zach Stolarsky (120 kg or 264.5 lbs). Competing in the same weight class, Harrington, Zamaria, and Livingston lost twice to six of the eight All-Americans. Others entered in the competition were Bo Touris at 55 kg (121 lbs) and both Jeremy Sanders and Ross Ambrose at 84 kg (185 lbs).

OSU Wrestlers and coaches watch the match.
Photo by Kevin Schlosser

Ohio State senior J.D. Bergman did not compete this weekend but is hard at work to join Triggas and Rowlands at the 2008 Olympic Trials. After competing at heavyweight and reaching the finals of the 2008 NCAA Tournament; Bergman is making the drop to 96 kg (211.5) pounds for the competition.
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