Ruiz wins two state titles; Chiefs fare well

FEDERAL WAY - Othello's Natilee Ruiz, a junior swimmer for the Lady Huskies, completed a sweep of both the 500-yard and 200-yard freestyle races to claim both Class 2A state titles with record times this past weekend at the 2010 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires State Swim and Dive Championships at the Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Ruiz already owns the state record in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke and now owns four of the eight individual event records for Class 2A swimming.

Ruiz finished with a 1:51.58 in the 200-yard freestyle and 5:00.59 in the 500-yard freestyle.

"It's just a lot of practice and hard work," Ruiz said. "It's nice to know thatI am actually doing something for my town and supporting Othello, instead of when I swim club it's just for me."

In the 4A meet, the Moses Lake Chiefs team sent two qualifiers and two wild cards to the state meet and came away with some strong performances of their own.

Junior Courtney Schwiesow, making her second straight state appearance, finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke on Saturday to capture sixth place and claim her medal on the podium.

"Courtney swam a lifetime best time," Moses Lake head coach Tony St. Onge said. "Courtney has put the time in the pool and deserved the recognition of being part of the march out and getting the opportunity to be part of the medal round on Saturday."

Diver, junior Sammy Hendrickson, who qualified for state by winning the district meet, made it to the semifinals, and finished with a 15th place result.

"During finals she chose to go for it with a forward two-and-a-half somersault which might have launched her into the top eight," St. Onge said. "She missed by a little and ended in 15th, but give her credit for taking a risk and going for it in state finals.  In the long run this kind of effort will pay off."

Fellow Chiefs diver, wildcard entrant Hailey Garza, made it into the semifinals as well and finished 18th overall.

Also the 200-medley relay team of Grace Hochstatter, Amber Garrett, Tori Dalrymple, and Schwiesow, dropped their district time a full second despite missing a chance for a finals spot.

"Overall this was a positive experience for the Chiefs swim and dive team," St. Onge said. "They found out they can compete at this level and hopefully the experience can be a launching pad to bigger and better things next season."