Quincy's Reif, Union City's Laird voted TDR Athletes of the Week
We are quickly closing in on the end of the 2022 Fall Sports season and boy did time fly. Teams from across the state now have their sights set on their respective postseasons, with football and cross country kicking off their postseason this week, followed by volleyball districts and swimming regionals next week. In short, we are in a very busy time of the year for student-athletes, coaches, alumni, fans and more as we count down the days to see who will be number one.
Before we get to that however we have another round of Athletes of the Week to hand out as voted on by you the readers. We have one more week of the two different category system, followed by a single Athlete of the Week following as teams are eliminated from the playoffs.
Before we announce this week’s winners, just a note, in the coming weeks you will see The Daily Reporter Dream Team awards as the sports department picks the best of the best in football and volleyball from around Branch County. If you have a nomination for the honor please contact Sports Editor Troy Tennyson via email a ttennyson@thedailyreporter.com.
But before we get there we still have Athletes of the Week to present so without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, this week’s The Daily Reporter Athlete of the Week, Jacob Reif of Quincy, and The Daily Reporter Football Player of the Week, Union City running back/defensive back Riley Laird, brought to you by ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital, Omega Physical Therapy, and Coldwater Chiropractic & Wellness Center.
The Daily Reporter Athlete of the Week- Quincy senior cross country runner Jacob Reif.
Quincy senior Jacob Reif has been a familiar name at the front of every race the Orioles have competed in this season, earning a number of top 10 finishes in addition to earning Big 8 All Conference honors for his work inside the conference.
https://thedailyreporter.gannettcontests.com/AOW-Voting-poll/ (Click on the link to view this week's Athlete of the Week gallery)
To earn this week’s The Daily Reporter Athlete of the Week Reif put together a spectacular week of action on the cross country courses, earning a pair of top 10 finishes to cap off an amazing regular season. As mentioned earlier, Reif started his week off with a clutch performance at Reading’s Kimball Camp for the Big 8 Conference Championship, a race that saw him cross the line in tenth place overall in a time of 19 minutes, 15.4 seconds. To finish off his 2022 regular season Reif battled his way to a fifth place finish at last Saturday’s Little Guys Invitational held in Gobles, recording a time of 18 minutes, 36.6 seconds.
For the season Reif has a total of five top 10 finishes with a season best time of 18 minutes, 1.7 seconds set at the Hudson Booster Invitational back on Oct. 8.
Also up for the award and receiving votes were Union City cross country runner Ben Gautsche, Coldwater swimmer Klara-Sofie Bollmann, Coldwater swimmer Randi Dudek, and Bronson cross country runner Ashlynn Harris.
Congratulations to this week’s The Daily Reporter Athlete of the Week, Quincy’s Jacob Reif, brought to you by ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital, Omega Physical Therapy, and Coldwater Chiropractic & Wellness Center.
The Daily Reporter Football Player of the Week- Union City junior Riley Laird, RB/WR/DB
Union City junior running back/wide receiver/defensive back Riley Laird is no stranger to the TDR Football Player of the Week honor, having won the vote once already this season. It was actually Laird’s performance throughout the year for the Big 8 champion Chargers that forced us here at The Daily Reporter to change our policy on winning the award more than once, that’s how good Laird has been over the past several weeks of the season.
Laird was honored by the readers this week because of his performance in the Big 8/Cascade Conference Crossover championship versus Napoleon, a game the Chargers dropped in heartbreaking fashion 15-0. Laird ran with heart and passion in leading the Union City rushing attack, carrying the ball 20 times for 129 yards while also hauling in one catch for 13 yards.
https://thedailyreporter.gannettcontests.com/Football-Player-of-the-Week/gallery (Click this link to see the Football Player of the Week photo gallery)
For the season Laird is the Chargers leading rusher with 115 carries for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns, an average of 86 yards per game, with three 100 yard games under his belt. Laird also hauled in six catches fro 68 yards and a score to help the receiving corps. Laird led the Chargers in total points scored with 84 points, total touchdowns with 13, and total yards with 842 yards.
Riley Laird and his Chargers are not done just yet as of the writing of this article as they will face Hudson in the first round of the Division 7 Football Playoffs on Friday.
Joining Laird on the ballot for this week’s The Daily Reporter Football Player of the Week was Quincy offensive/defensive lineman Dave Milliman; Coldwater jack-of-all-trades Hunter Munson; Union City offensive/defensive lineman Grady Iobe; Coldwater quarterback Zach Coffing; and Quincy running back Tre’Von Bodley.
Congratulations to this week’s The Daily Reporter Football Player of the Week, Union City junior Riley Laird, brought to you by ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital, Omega Physical Therapy, and Coldwater Chiropractic & Wellness Center.
Do you have an athlete you feel deserves recognition as athlete or football player of the week? Send their name, school, some stats, and a little about their effort to Sports Editor Troy Tennyson via email at ttennyson@thedailyreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Quincy's Reif, Union City's Laird voted TDR Athletes of the Week
