Roman Ruiz does it all on the track for Chiawana

When Roman Ruiz was in middle school, he was a shot put and discus thrower. He had no desire to do much more than that.

“I was lazy,” Ruiz admitted. “But now, they are events that help me get a lot of points when I do decathlons.”

There will be no decathlon this weekend for the Chiawana senior at the Mid-Columbia Conference/Greater Spokane League regional meet at Richland High School, but Ruiz is entered in sprints, jumps and throwing events as he tries to earn a state berth in all three disciplines.

“I can’t recall anyone who has gone in all three,” Riverhawks coach Tim Harrington said. “I’m sure there has, but it is a unique situation. He should go in all four. Getting to state from our region is hard. You have to be on — everything has to click.”

The top three 4A athletes in each event at regionals will advance to state next week at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, while the 3A division advances just two.

When Ruiz showed up for track his freshman year at Chiawana, Harrington had been forewarned of his arrival by Ruiz’s older brother, Cortez. He also told Harrington that Ruiz had more to offer than the shot put and discus.

“We got him to try different things,” Harrington said. “When kids have that kind of potential, you have them try them in different things. It was when we put him in the pole vault and hurdles that we knew what he could do.

“Our pole vault coach (Lisa Martin) decided early on he’d be good. His progression has been what we expected. He’s gone 15-9, but he continues to improve. We know he can go higher.”

Busy day ahead

Ruiz will pole vault, run the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and compete in the shot put this weekend. He won the MCC district title in all four.

The pole vault finals are Friday, as are the prelims for both hurdle events. The shot put finals are Saturday.

“I haven’t been doing as good in the pole vault as I have wanted to,” said Ruiz, who won the district title with a height of 15 feet after taking second at the Pasco Invitational with that 15-9 mark.

Things started off sideways when he broke his pole in warmups at district, and his mom, Verna, had to get his spare pole and bring it to the meet. Then, the pole vault was at the same time as the 300 hurdles.

“It’s hard to prepare when everything starts at the same time,” Ruiz said. It’s crazy. But I do get a little rest after the hurdles because they usually aren’t at my opening height (in the pole vault).”

Then there is the whole idea of hanging onto a pole 15 feet in the air.

“Once you are upside down, you don’t really think, you just go,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz went to state in just the pole vault last year and placed fourth at 14-0. His chances of going in all four this season are good.

Multi-event, multi-sport

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Ruiz, who was an all-league wide receiver and defensive back in football last fall, said it was his idea when he was a freshman to try the pole vault. It looked fun. His first time out, he cleared 9-6. Now, he is one of the best in the state.

He is ranked No. 1 in the state among 4A schools in the pole vault. He ranks 10th in the shot put but is second among MCC and GSL competitors.

He ranks fifth in the 110 hurdles and will have stiff competition from the Spokane schools. He is No. 7 in the 300 hurdles, and again, the competition will be tough against guys like Nick Johnson of Gonzaga Prep and Bryan Anderson of Mead.

“Both hurdles and the pole vault are looking pretty promising,” Ruiz said. “I have had the school record in the pole vault since my sophomore year, and I have broken it so many times. I’m out there competing against myself, which is what I do in a lot of league meets. Spokane is super good in the hurdles, and they have some good shot putters. I threw bad at districts (47-9) — 5 feet under my PR.”

Along with the pole vault, Ruiz also holds the Chiawana school record in both hurdles (14.38 seconds in 110, 38.87 in 300). He is second in the shot put (52-5 1/2).

A future decathlete, Ruiz has been able to try his hand at several events, but said there is no clear-cut favorite.

“Whatever I do best in that day, that is my favorite,” he said.

While Ruiz has competed in multi-event meets the past two summers, he will have to shelve his track endeavors the next two years as he embarks on a two-year LDS mission to Rome. He leaves July 6.

“I am so excited,” he said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve wanted to go on a mission, and I really want to go to Italy.”

When he returns, there will be a track scholarship waiting for him at Utah State.

“That is the great thing, that Utah State will hold my scholarship,” he said.

But there is a little unfinished business to take care of first.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Roman Ruiz does it all on the track for Chiawana."