USA Wrestling has announced that Reece Humphrey (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC) and Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio/Gator WC) will not be entered in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling in Iowa City, Iowa, April 21-22.

They will prepare for the upcoming World Olympic Games Qualifying Tourmaments in late April and early May at 60 kg/132 lbs. in men’s freestyle.

The United States has not yet qualified to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games at two weight classes, 60 kg/132 lbs. in men’s freestyle and 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman. The USA has earned a spot in the other 16 Olympic weight classes in the three international styles.

2011 World Team member Justin Ruiz (Orem, Utah/New York AC) will also miss the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in order to attempt to qualify the United States at the 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman.

The next Olympic qualifying opportunity is the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiyuan, China, April 27-29. Only athletes whose nation has not yet qualified for the London Games will be able to enter this event at each weight class. The top three placewinners in this event in each weight class will qualify their nation to compete at the Olympic Games.

If the United States does not qualify at 60 kg in men’s freestyle at the event in China, the United States will then enter an athlete in the final Olympic qualifying event, the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Helsinki, Finland, May 4-6. The top two placewinners in the qualifier in Finland qualify their nation to compete in the Olympic Games.

Withholding Humphrey and Bunch from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials is permitted through the Athlete Selection Procedures for the Olympic Games for men’s freestyle, which allows USA Wrestling to select up to two athletes to participate in the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

This means that the winner at 60 kg/132 lbs. at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials does not secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team yet. 

The Olympic Trials regulations for men’s freestyle provides for a Secondary 2012 Olympic Trials for weight classes which were not qualified for the Olympics prior to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

In the case of 60 kg/132 lbs. in men’s freestyle, if the USA qualifies for the Olympics, a Secondary Olympic Trials will be held. The individual that qualifies the weight class for the Olympic Games will be the number one seed at a Secondary Olympic Trials. The remaining individuals, which could include the other individual held out and the winner of the Olympic Trials (and if necessary, an athlete receiving a medical petition) will wrestle in a single match format. The winner will compete in a best of three series against the individual that qualified the weight division, and the winner will be USA Wrestling’s designee to the Olympic Team.

Humphrey is ranked No. 1 at 60 kg/132 lbs. on Freestyle Team USA. He placed ninth in the 2011 World Championships at the weight. He was a 2011 U.S. Open champion and a 2011 World Team Trials champion. He has won two University World medals. Humphrey was a two-time All-American for Ohio State, and hails from Indianapolis, Ind.

Bunch is ranked No. 2 at 60 kg/132 lbs. on Freestyle Team USA. He placed second in both the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2011 World Team Trials. He was a member of the 2009 U.S. World Team and has won two U.S. Open titles. He was a two-time All-American for Edinboro and hails from Leavenworth, Kan.