Boys and girls basketball collectively have been district champions for 10 combined seasons.
Girls tennis are 10-time state champions in the 2015 season.
Welcome to the world of sports at RBHS.
Each year students work to improve their skill and talent levels. Their coaches push them harder every day to achieve their goals. Teams travel to state championships, compete for national titles and come out on top.
Past classes have set a high precedent with nearly 50 conference, district, state and national titles. Dr. Jennifer Rukstad recalls that the athletic program’s successes stemmed from the girls’ basketball state championship title in 2008.
“This title seemed to raise the level of expectation for our athletes,” Dr. Rukstad, who played basketball and softball at RBHS and graduated in 1994, said. “From that point, things changed and we started to see numbers of great athletes and many successful teams.”
In the 2011-2012 school year RBHS received six state championship titles and was named the 8th-ranked high school athletics program in the country.
These successes have not been cut short. RBHS has won five State Championships just this year.
Along with the physical successes of trophies and awards, RBHS has also created victories. Former RBHS Cheerleader and current Coach of the Bruin Girls, Lyria Bartlett, recalls her collection of fond memories being a teammate and an athlete.
“Experiences are meaningless without people to share them with. I love being a part of a team, even if it is a tangential role,” Bartlett, who graduated in 1998, said. “Successful teams have to sacrifice a lot for each other and the pride and joy that comes with true, selfless teamwork is hard to beat.”
Senior Bruin Girl Megan Sherman has experienced her most memorable year through being on the team this season.
“Competing with my teammates this last year has been incredible,” Sherman said. “The times spent on the stage brought us so close and lots of memories were made.”
The traditional successes that come from athletes and teams at the school do not only stem from talent and a previous background with succeeding. Ultimately, it depends on the hard work and drive of the students and their coaches that will carry them to a lifetime of success.
Boys’ soccer coach Scott Wittenborn believes that the RBHS tradition of performing as one unit is being carried on with his team.
“We emphasize picking each other up during rough times just as much as we celebrate our successes together,” Wittenborn said. “This translates into victories through a hard work ethic that our players can take with them.”
“We emphasize picking each other up during rough times just as much as we celebrate our successes together,” Wittenborn said. “This translates into victories through a hard work ethic that our players can take with them.”
Through RBHS athletics, players have learned that many life lessons come along with the championships they achieve.
“As people grow up they will take the life lessons of teamwork and sacrifice with them, not the trophies,” Bartlett said.
Freshman volleyball player Emma Wilson has experienced similar feelings through her first season as an RBHS athlete.
“My team has become a family to me,” Wilson said. “They helped me learn that you can’t do everything on your own. You need the support of your teammates and coaches to work together to achieve success.”
Since its opening in 1973, athletes at RBHS have come together to set records not only in trophies and titles, but in the memories they have created through being a team.
“The key components that we used as a team — commitment, respect and a hard work ethic — made the time practicing and competing unforgettable,” Bartlett said. “The experiences I’ve had with performing as a whole team were meaningful, memorable and critical to our success.”
