Quincy wrestling finishes 8th at Grass Lake Invite; Reif wins gold, George silver, Orioles finish with five medals

GRASS LAKE, MI. — The scrappy Quincy Oriole wrestling team traveled to Grass Lake on Saturday for the 2022 Grass Lake Wrestling Invitational.

Quincy finished in eighth place overall with a score of 98 points thanks to five medals, including one champion and one runner-up finish.

Jefferson finished in first place with 189 points followed by Laingsburg with 172.5 points. Birch Run finished in third place with 160 points, followed by Troy, Monroe, Pinckney, Whitmore Lake, Quincy, Hillsdale and Hanover Horton.

Quincy junior Jacob Reif finished atop the podium at 125 pounds, taking top honors in a tough bracket. Reif, 29-4 on the season, kicked off his championship run with a bye, followed by a dominant 15-7 Major Decision over Levi Podhola of Pinckney in the quarterfinals. The semifinal round saw Reif turn Birch Run’s Noah Mudge for a pin fall victory, taking the win in 1:56 to punch his ticket to the championship finals. In the gold medal match it was Reif facing off with Grass Lake’s Matthew Rankin. Again Reif was dominant in the victory, taking the 9-1 Major Decision victory and the gold medal win.

Quincy junior Davin George also had himself a solid tournament, taking runner-up honors at 189 pounds. George, 27-6 on the season, kicked off his day with a pin fall win in round one over Hillsdale’s Carson Loader in 2:53. In the quarterfinals it was George defeating Jack Reid of Grass Lake in a tough battle, winning the 8-6 decision. In the semifinals George again secured another hard fought close victory, defeating Alex Kurth of Whitmore Lake by a 6-2 decision, punching his ticket to the gold medal finals. In the championship match it was George facing off with Mikey Brooks of Laingsburg who came into the tournament at 26-2 overall. Brooks went on to win the gold medal wth a 11-1 Major Decision over George, giving the big Oriole the silver medal.

Also placing for Quincy was Nicholas Weber who finish in fifth place at 145 pounds after finishing 3-1 overall. Weber kicked off his day with a tough 7-5 decision loss to Nicklas Stromberg of Troy, sending the Oriole right to the consolation bracket. Weber ended up taking the long way to a medal, finishing his day with three straight wins for fifth place. On his way to the fifth place finish Weber pinned Donovan Fox of Whitmore Lake in 2:49, pinned Chase Nostrandt of Birch Run in :32 seconds, and defeated Landon Barltley of Olivet by a 7-0 decision.

Also earning a spot on the podium was Gavin Peet in sixth place at 171 pounds after going 3-2 on the day, taking a pin fall win over Nathan Vernier of Monroe, a bye and a 6-4 decision in sudden victory while dropping a pin fall loss and a 6-4 decision in the fifth place match versus Stephen Peterson of Hillsdale.

Hamilton Spieth also earned a fifth place finish, with his coming at 215 pounds after finishing the day 4-1. Spieth started his day with a pin fall win over Jacob Schamburger of Sand Creek in 1:28 before falling to Vinny Patierno of Pinckney via a 5-1 decision. Spieth ended his day with a three match winning streak, defeating Tristan Lederman of Troy via pin fall; defeating Sean Okeefe of Pinckney by a 6-2 decision; and downing Daniel Beckley of Sand Creek in the fifth place match by a 2-0 decision.

Quincy will next see action on Wednesday when they host White Pigeon in a non-conference dual meet.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Quincy wrestling finishes 8th at Grass Lake Invite