Many athletes want their performance to be noticed in athletic contests. Other athletes to be noticed out of the blue.
For senior swimmer Zach Ruske, getting noticed simply meant watching a swimming match.
"During a triathlon, during the swimming section, [some guy] said to join swimming, so I did," Ruske said.
With that simple recommendation, Ruske took on swimming and has been in the water ever since. During his tenure at Monarch High School in Superior, Colo., Ruske was named to the All-State team three times, and the All-American team twice. For those who start as late as Ruske, it is something very unique.
"I started as a freshman in high school, then started all year as a sophomore, and became all state in relay," Ruske said.
Because Ruske took that man's advice, he has earned a spot on Buffalo's Division I swimming team, has been named to the All-Mid-American Conference team, and has a handful of school records, some of which were broken at this past weekend's MAC/Sun Belt Championship.
"He re-broke his 200 IM [swimming the backstroke leg] and 200 back," said head coach Andy Bashor. "He also broke the 400 IM record and the 800 free relay."
Ruske's success at Buffalo almost never happened. In 2005-2006, Ruske attended Metro State, a Division II school in Colorado. Fortunately for the Bulls, Ruske's Roadrunner days were over and he transferred to Buffalo for the following season. Now Ruske is cleaning house as the team's premier backstroker.
Because he transferred to Buffalo, Ruske is given an extra year of eligibility on the team. Because of this, Ruske has another season to help the Bulls become successful. Bashor believes he has the talent to dip his feet into other "waters," but for now, he will stick with what Ruske does best in his final season on the Bulls.
"He is just a good all around swimmer, with his backstroke being his best stroke," Bashor said. "You kind of get into certain events when you start swimming in college, but he still has a lot more room to improve."
Buffalo was not the only Division I school looking to nab Ruske.
"Louisville talked to me a couple of times, and LSU thought of bringing me out too," Ruske said. "I contacted those schools and didn't hear back, but Buffalo got back to me right away."
Ruske has not only become one of the best swimmers on the team, but also has very quietly become one of the team leaders.
"We have a very young team, and he does a really good job behind the scenes helping guys out," Bashor said.
Ruske's leadership closely mirrors his medley swimming. Ruske doesn't mind swimming the first, second, third or last leg because each has its own competitiveness to it.
"I prefer leading to get a solid time, but anchoring is fun too because of the pressure," Ruske said.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
