Ohio State men’s track and field star Reign Winston (right) is carrying the legacy of his father Otis Winston (left), who was a basketball and track captain at Ohio State. Reign Winston is aiming to break his father’s high jump record, which was set at Ohio State in 1993 of 7 feet, 4.5 inches. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Batman. Spiderman. Ironman. Superman. Reign Winston.
Many little boys dream of being their favorite superhero, but Ohio State track and field sophomore Reign Winston was born to become something else.
Otis Winston, Reign Winston’s father and former Ohio State basketball and track captain, recalled his son’s unwavering spirit about being himself from a young age.
“I’m not Superman, my name is Reign,” Reign Winston once uttered, Otis Winston said. “I always tell him he’s not walking in his father’s footsteps, he’s creating his own. It’s almost like fingerprints. Fingerprints look the same until put under a microscope, right? You test them and realize they’re not. So he looks like me, he talks like me, he sounds like [me], he moves like me, he even has certain thought patterns that I had but he’s completely his own person.”
Unlike his father, Reign Winston’s high jump career didn’t begin until his junior year of high school. He tried to run away from track for most of his life but said he vividly remembers the day he spontaneously decided to start.
“I stayed away because of [my dad’s] impact on track,” Reign Winston said. “I sent him the videos and I remember being on FaceTime with him, he was just watching me jump and I looked stupid [jumping], but he started crying. It was such an emotional moment for him.”
For Otis Winston, the emotions came flooding in, taking him back to when Reign Winston was just 6 years old.
“I was coaching high jump and somebody was struggling,” Otis Winston said. “Reign walked up and said, ‘You just do it like this’ as he ran and jumped the bar then he just walked off. We completely forgot about it. So when he sent me that video, it was like, ‘Man no matter how much he tried to run from it, it chose him.’ It’s just an amazing feeling to watch and see him spread his wings and become the best version of himself.”
This memorable beginning would soon turn into accolades and college offers for the Westerville, Ohio, native. But when Reign Winston got an offer from Ohio State, he said he canceled all his other visits as he knew staying close to his support system was of utmost importance.
“Right before I came to college, my sister had my nephew, and I wanted to be able to be close to him and watch him grow,” Reign Winston said. “He was a big motivation for me to stay, so he can also see his uncle do something good. Just knowing I have family here to support me motivates me to jump high and keep going.”
Although Reign Winston knew he was meant to be a Buckeye, he said he also knew this would come with an extreme amount of pressure as his father set an Ohio State high jump record in 1993 of 7 feet, 4.5 inches.
“I feel like there’s pressure to beat it,” Reign Winston said. “I talk to [my dad] about it sometimes and he says there’s never any pressure, but for me, there is because I’m a competitor and want to break the record.”
On top of this heavy load, starting his high jump career later in life came with imposter syndrome when he arrived at Ohio State, but his relationship with his father helped keep him steady.
“My dad has always been super present in my life,” Reign Winston said. “Last year I was going through a rough patch. I just couldn’t clear a bar, I didn’t feel like I belonged in a college track meet and it was really hurting my confidence. My dad came to practice and he just had me jump, and jump, and jump and jump until I started to figure it out again.”
It wasn’t easy, but after putting extra work in, Reign Winston said he broke the rough patch, finally cleared the bar and made regionals as a freshman. He took the confidence he built, kept crafting it during the offseason and ultimately brought it into this season, inching closer to the record as he jumped 7 feet in March.
After a rough year, Reign Winston said he is hungry to continue to grow as he’s now considered one of the leaders on the team. Many of his teammates come to him for advice and a shoulder to lean on, which is a role that he’s grown to embrace.
“Right now, I’m just focused on getting better and learning the sport more,” Reign Winston said. “Last year, I had a rough start. I was confused, I was lost, I didn’t know what I was doing. This year has been a big jump for me as I’m getting my feet under me, learning how to compete and applying what I do in practice to my meets. I feel like if I stay on this course, I’m gonna break it really soon.”
Otis Winston said it fires his enthusiasm to think about the day his son breaks his record.
“He was born to do it,” Otis Winston said. “I want [my children] to experience every blessing that God has for them. I want them to experience it to the highest level. So when he does [break my record], he will take it so much higher than I did because he’s designed and destined to do it. It’s one of those things that’ll be a memory I will hold on to until I die.”
Reaping the blessings God has in store for him is something Reign Winston said he is thankful for as he holds his faith close, being named after and having Timothy 2:12 etched on his calf.
“It’s a message to myself every day,” Reign Winston said. “Don’t deny God, allow him to take you through the journey that you’re supposed to go through and have trust in him. I thank God every day for being able to put me in this position and I thank my parents for naming me Reign.”
Ultimately, Reign Winston said he looks forward to the impact he’ll get to leave behind.
“I want to create my own name for myself and create my own legacy,” Reign Winston said.
