Pedro Ruiz (Sioux Center, Iowa) and Aaron Ruskell (Schleswig, Iowa) have signed a letters of intent to continue their wrestling careers at Northwestern College next year.
Ruiz, the son of Pedro Sr., is a 125 lb. wrestler from Sioux Center High School. Ruiz has earned three varsity letters for head coach Ken Vigdal at Sioux Center High School. Ruiz was 36-13 his senior season and was the runner-up at sectionals this season. He also placed third at the conference meet and at the district meet. Of his 36 wins, 13 came by way of pin in 2008-09. Ruiz was named the captain for his senior season and was voted the most improved wrestler at Sioux Center after his junior campaign.
Ruiz, an undecided major, was on the honor roll while at Sioux Center. "We are excited to add Pedro to the line-up," said head coach Rik Dahl. "Pedro is a local guy who had success at the high school level. In addition, he was a team leader and a pace setter at dual meets. With his athleticism and explosiveness, he has the potential to be a great light weight wrestler."
Ruskell, the son of Tom and Dawn, is a 6-1 157 lb wrestler for Denison H.S. He has earned four letters at Denison for coach Nick Bradley and finished 27-15 his senior season. A career 63-41 wrestler, Ruskell had 15 pins his senior season and 24 reversals. Ruskell wrestled his way to first place at the Tiger-Knight Invitational this season and was the wrestling captain for the Monarchs in 2008-09.
Ruskell, a chemistry/education major, was also a two time student of the month at Denison H.S., and carried above a 3.0 GPA throughout high school. "Aaron is filling an empty space on our team at 157 lbs," said head coach Rik Dahl. "With the departure of National Qualifier, Claudel Noel, a huge void was in our line up. Adding Aaron will allow us to continue to be competitive up and down the roster. Aaron's success at the H.S. level is exciting to me, and I feel he has much to offer our team. As a senior at Denison, he was a captain and statistical leader on the mat. It is huge to add that type of leadership and potential to our squad."
