His best shot

Mike Sciacca

Brian Ruziecki went into last weekend’s 2002 CIF State Track and Field

Championships with his typical work ethic and a simple game plan.

There was nothing fancy about his preparation for the two-day event at

Cerritos College in Norwalk, where Saturday’s final drew a crowd of

10,751. He just went about his normal routine: a good night’s sleep and a

well-balanced breakfast each morning.

It can’t get much simpler than the way Ruziecki readied himself to

compete in the shot put and discus events at the big meet. His goals were

to go there, give it his best shot, and have fun.

“That’s what my main goal is with all the sports I play -- to have

fun,” said the Huntington Beach High senior. “I went to Cerritos the

first day hoping to make the cut, then I wanted to hit my best marks in

the final.”

In his first appearance at a State meet, Ruziecki met his first goal

as he hit qualifying marks in two events, finishing fourth in the discus

and eighth in the shot put, during Friday’s preliminaries.

To qualify for Saturday’s final, an athlete had to finish among the

top nine in an event during Friday’s prelims. There were 24 competitors

in the shot put and discus.

Although he didn’t record personal bests in either event during

Saturday’s final, the 18-year-old did place fifth overall in the shot put

at 58-feet, 11 1/4-inches, and eighth in the discus with a 171-10, among

all divisions.

His best personal mark in the discus is a 191-6, and his top effort in

the shot put is an even 61-feet, he said.

Last year, Ruziecki reached the CIF finals, where he was third in the

Division II discus.

“I was hoping to [personal record] but it didn’t work out that way,”

he said.

Over the years, Ruziecki had fun with the sports he played at

Huntington Beach High -- and succeeded, too.

He was with the track and field program for all four years and served

as the boys’ team captain his senior year. He established records for a

freshman, sophomore and junior performer in the shot put and discus, he

said, and as a senior, his marks in both events are second only to those

of record-holder Scott Moser.

Prior to the track and field season, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Ruziecki

played football for the Oilers, the last of his four seasons with the

program.

He also served as captain of the football team and played outside

linebacker, offensive tackle.

He earned All-Sunset League first team honors as an offensive tackle.

“I loved participating in both sports and had a great time here at

Huntington,” said Ruziecki, who serves on the Associated Student Body

cabinet. He also is president of the glee club, which is made up of 10 or

so members of the football program. The group, he said, sings at various

school assemblies.

Ruziecki isn’t a talker out on the field; rather, he tends to lead by

example.

His Huntington Beach High athletic career was preceded by the example

set by his older brother, Jeff, now a first baseman at Wake Forest

University. Ruziecki, in turn, has set the standard for his younger

brother, Eric, a sophomore who played junior varsity football and

basketball with the Oilers.

When Ruziecki walked away from the State meet last weekend, he did so

after having advanced the farthest he had in his high school track and

field career.

But he’s not hanging up his cleats for good -- he’s just exchanging

his track shoes for the football variety. On June 28, Ruziecki will begin

daily practice at Mission Viejo High as he prepares for the upcoming

Orange County North-South Prep All-Star Football Game.

He said he will play defensive end for the South in the 43rd annual

contest, which will be played July 12 at Orange Coast College.

When he’s done with that game, he’ll have some time off to enjoy the

summer. In the fall, he will be attending UCLA on a partial track and

field scholarship.

That might not sit well with his father, Jim, who is a USC graduate.

“He’ll get over it,” Ruziecki laughed.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at (714)

965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.