Matt Reedy has a herniated disc between his C6-C7 vertebrae, which is putting pressure on his spinal chord.
That medical jargon might not make much sense to the average collegiate athlete, but Reedy understands it perfectly. The redshirt freshman is a pre-med major in the chemistry track. He wants to be an orthopedic surgeon and specialize in sports medicine.
Orthopedic surgeons deal with the musculoskeletal system, so Reedy can explain his injury quite easily.
There's a disc in between the two (C6-C7 vertebrae)
which is right between your shoulder blades said Reedy, who is from Hiram, Ohio. The disc kind of slips out and pushes into your spinal cord which causes numbness.
The disc became herniated in November 2008. Reedy was wrestling in the Hoosier Duals when his neck was jammed up against the mat. His right arm went numb.
He said at first he thought it was just a stinger. He wrestled in two more matches, winning both of them. When his middle finger, ring finger and pinky finger on his right hand were still numb a few weeks later, he knew something was wrong. He got an MRI and found out he had the herniated disc.
Reedy's injury ended his wrestling season with a record of 8-3, but that meant he had more time to devote to his studies.
Reedy currently has a 3.94 grade point average. He received a B- for the first time in his life - in an organic chemistry class in the fall.
He's always doing homework
said Justin Powell, another Ohio wrestler and Reedy's roommate. If he's not doing homework
he's looking up stuff on medicine. I laugh at him and call him a nerd.
What exactly Reedy studies is a complete mystery to Powell.
I look at (his homework)
and I don't even know where to begin
Powell said. It's just nonsense to me.
Powell said Reedy has an uncanny ability to remember anything that has to do with school. Reedy just looks at it, and he remembers it weeks later.
Doing well in school is nothing new to Reedy, though.
He was the valedictorian at Ravenna High School with a 4.0 GPA.
He wasn't just perfect in the classroom but on the mat as well. He was 51-0 his senior year and won the Ohio Division II State Championship at 140 pounds.
He's a pretty amazing kid
coach Joel Greenlee said.
And he's following in the footsteps of his parents - on and off the mat.
His dad, Steve, was an All-American wrestler at Kent State. He is the principal at Berkshire High School and coached Ravenna's wrestling team for about 15 years, including a state championship in 1993. His mom, Nancy, is a teacher at Ravenna High School.
Greenlee said much of Reedy's success has to do with being around high expectations.
His dad expected his team to listen
to do this
to do that
Greenlee said. His mom expected her students to have this done on time and if it wasn't done on time it wasn't acceptable.
He's one of those guys you tell him and he just does it.
Greenlee also said while Reedy is obviously gifted
