OTHELLO -- Though graduation is still several months away, Natilee Ruiz will say goodbye to a big part of her high school years this weekend.
The Othello senior could win her fifth and sixth Class 2A state swimming titles Saturday in Federal Way.
When she competes in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 freestyle, her parents, Benjamin Ruiz and Linda Snyder, will cheer her on from the stands, as will her 13-year-old brother, Anthony. Her other brother Bubba, an Othello sophomore, won't be there because he's playing in Saturday's state first-round football game, but he understands this is a big moment for his older sister.
It won't be long before Ruiz heads out on her own. It appears big things are ahead for the self-proclaimed "small-town girl."
With a 4.0 grade-point average, Ruiz likely will be valedictorian of her high school class. In June, she will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., in the 200-meter IM and 200 backstroke.
A couple months later, Ruiz will attend San Diego State on a full swimming scholarship to study nursing. She made her college decision right before the district championships.
"It was just a gut feeling of the team, the coaches, the atmosphere," said Ruiz, who also visited Northwestern and UNLV. "I wanted to be home away from home. I felt happy at each school, but something felt right about SDSU."
Though San Diego is more than 1,200 miles from Othello, Ruiz's family is happy with her choice.
"I'm glad she'll get to get out of Washington and experience something else," Snyder said. "She'll get the taste of something different."
The familial feeling of the San Diego State team is important to Ruiz because she is the Othello team. As part of a co-op situation, she has practiced with the Moses Lake squad since she was a freshman.
"I'm the only swimmer from my town, but I just love knowing what I'm doing, my town gets credit for it," Ruiz said. "My freshman and junior year, I saw my family and people from Othello at state. I was so happy knowing they were supporting me. It just pumps me up."
Last year, Ruiz won state titles in the 200 free and 500 free. In 2008, she was victorious in the 50 free and 100 back.
The gap in her career came in her sophomore year, when Ruiz chose to spend the fall playing volleyball for the Huskies. She played the sport in junior high and wanted to try it again.
"After freshman year, I was really worn out, and I didn't want to look back 50 years from now and wonder what could have happened in high school," she said.
Though Ruiz enjoyed her time on the court, "I knew I wouldn't be able to get anywhere with volleyball," said Ruiz, who started swimming year-round when she was 10. "I knew swimming would take me so much further."
Only when she returned to the pool, she found it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be.
"I had so much fun doing volleyball, but after I got back into swimming, it was like: 'Wow, I'm not doing well. Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?' But now I've seen how much it's changed me. I don't know whether I'd have worked this much before."
Tri-City Channel Cats coach Todd Stafek says he has noticed a significant change in Ruiz's habits.
"As a freshman, she took for granted how good she was as far as the amount of rest she gets and what she eats and some of the stuff outside the pool than what she does now," Stafek said. "Now she knows she needs to get the rest and eat properly. She knows she needs to get the training in."
Though Ruiz usually is up until 1 or 2 a.m. doing homework, she certainly stays on track with her pool time. She logs 600 miles a week driving to and from Channel Cats practice in the Tri-Cities, not to mention her commute to Moses Lake for high school practice.
That commitment has gotten Ruiz to this moment, less than 48 hours away from possibly owning two more state titles. She has thought about how she will feel once the final meet of her high school career is over.
"I'm not an open person, but I already know I'm going to be emotional," she said. "I know how much this year means to my parents. I know the second I see them, it'll be like, 'Come here and hug me!'
"My dad, he's such an unemotional typical guy. He does not shed a tear, but I know how hard he has been taking this year. I see it in my mom, too. They don't want their little girl to grow up. I feel helpless -- it's not my fault I'm growing up -- but the second I see them, they'll be proud of me, hopefully."
