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Reps matter but like whats been mentioned, its how much weight in relation to your max that you're actually moving. And of course how many sets.
I saw considerable gains in the phase of my lifting where i was doing 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, BUT i was lifting moderate to heavy weight. (As a sprinter you not only have to have muscular power, but muscular endurance as well.) In my current phase though, everything is 4 sets of 8, but its all heavy and more power oriented. Personally, my muscles respond better to higher reps, but that's just me.
As a general rule though, i'd say 8-10 reps for mass / 12-15 reps or more for definition. Make sure though that when you're doing low reps, the amount of weight you're doing is enough to get a burn on numbers 6,7, and 8 (or 8,9 and 10). If its easy on your last rep, you're not lifting enough. And the same goes for high reps. If its so light to where you're not really getting a burn at number 15 or whatever, you're not lifting enough. Do the most you can do, but WITH PROPER FORM AND FULL RANGE OF MOTION.
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