Athlete of the week: Reiff earns 3 pins in 83 seconds to win title at Wagner

PARKSTON — Parkston wrestler Brady Reiff prefers to end his matches as quickly as possible.

The sophomore did just that, taking just 83 total seconds to pin all three opponents en route to claiming the 220-pound title Saturday at the Wagner Invitational.

“Usually I don’t like to waste time. It’s better to go out there and get it done as fast as I can because there is less chance of losing,” Reiff said. “It’s definitely my goal to win the (state) championship.”

After his three quick matches, Reiff is now 31-0 this season and focusing his attention on once again making the state tournament.

Reiff qualified for the Class B state wrestling tournament at 160 pounds as an eighth grader and 182 pounds as a freshman.

“Brady is pretty aggressive and is the type of wrestler that isn’t going to play around with a guy. If he can get the take down and turn a guy to get the fall, he is going to do it,” Parkston wrestling coach Jared Digmann said. “He is good and he is going to keep getting better as long as he keeps working hard.”

For his efforts, Reiff has been named The Daily Republic’s athlete of the week, an award voted on by the newspaper’s sports staff.

Reiff is the younger brother of two former state champion wrestlers.

Reiff’s older brother Eric won a state championship in the 215-pound weight class in 2011 and his eldest brother Riley, who now plays offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, won three state championships — two at 215 and one at heavyweight.

“They help me out if they see something that maybe I am doing wrong, and it helps that I can watch old videos of them wrestling,” Reiff said.

This season he has been one of the leaders for the Trojans, who have won all but one of the matches they have competed in.

“He’s kind of a quieter guy, who works hard and does what he needs to do,” Digmann said. “He leads by example rather than vocally and people look up to him.”

Reiff and Parkston hit the mat again in a dual against Burke/Gregory Thursday in Parkston.

Tags: sports, updates, wrestling, parkston