Bryce Ruland

Waterford Union HS, Waterford, WI, c/o 2024
AthleticNET Bio

Growing up on the shores of Tichigan Lake, Bryce Ruland interests were water skiing and fishing. He picked up show skiing with the Aquaducks show skiing group. Being “ a little chunkier back then,” he would serve as the base for the pyramids the skiers would build and also for the “conventionals” act where his partner would do dance-like moves while he supported them both on water skis. He also did slalom.

His father, Mike, was one of seven brothers who all played sports in Wonewoc, Wisconsin. Four of his uncles threw the shot and discus and did all kinds of sports. When Bryce was in fifth grade, his father started to show him and his older sister, Brooke, how to throw in their driveway.

He and his sister began their education as Montessori students which didn’t offer any sports. His sister decided she wanted to participate in sports which required enrolling in the public school system. Bryce wanted to try it too and they both began public school. Though young for his grade, they placed him in sixth grade. He’ll turn 17 on September 26.

In seventh grade, he competed in the discus at the annual Badger State Games. There, he faced Ben Smith with whom he would become familiar with throughout his throwing career in Wisconsin. In the ‘19 edition of the games, Smith edged him 136-08.5 to 135-02.5. Also in the seventh grade, he began powerlifting.

As he progressed in his throwing events and powerlifting he made the decision to drop skiing as the risk of injury was too high. It’s something he misses at times.

“Two years ago is when I called it quits on show skiing as part of a team because the risk of getting hurt  wasn't really worth it to me. But it was a lot of fun water skiing. Sometimes I still do it here at our house, but I do miss it a little bit.”

His school, Waterford Union, has about 900 students and has a surprising number of success stories among the student body. Dylan Questad, an Arkansas signee, was selected by the Twins with the 150th pick in the 2023 MLB draft. Madelyn Bernau won the Olympic Games bronze in the first ever mixed trap shooting competition at the Tokyo Olympics, and Megan Cornell and Taylor Gordon signed athletic scholarships to play soccer at the University of Wisconsin- Madison this past year. 

The powerlifting team has followed suit drawing a large contingent of students to the program. Bryce’s father volunteers and the boys won the state title last year.  The program fosters a nurturing environment for Bryce and his teammates.

“We have very good coaches on our team. My dad is one of them. Our head coach is Holly Bjorge. We have two or three assistant coaches that used to be on the team and came back to help us. There's a lot of support. Everybody on our team is like one big family between us. We're always trying to help each other and we're all really close.”

Two years ago Bryce finished 12th at state in the 242 lb class. He squatted 187.5 kg (412.5 lbs), benched  112.5 kg(247.5 lbs), and dead lifted 227.5(500.5 lbs) to finish with 527.5 kg(1,160.5 lbs). This past year he hit the weight room a bit harder and won the state championships. He squatted 255 kg (561 lbs), benched  160 kg(320 lbs), and dead lifted 295 (649 lbs) to finish with 710 kg(1,562 lbs) The squat, deadlift and total amount were all state records. At the High School Nationals in Myrtle Beach at the end of March, he finished second with a 700kg (1,540lbs) total. 

“After I finished 12th at state two years ago, I felt like I could do a lot more. I started working harder over the summer. When we got into the season, something, I don't know what it was, but something just felt different. Weights started just flying up and everything panned out the way we hoped it would and I came away with three state records.”

He doesn’t do any fall sports. Standing 6-04 and weighing 242 lbs, he started off playing some football, but that didn’t stick with him. He preferred powerlifting and track and field.  

As he has gotten older and stronger, his performances have improved. In the ninth grade he had a best of 36-00.5 for the shot put and 150-0 for the discus; in tenth grade, he went to 45-07 and 171-06; and this past year he went 61-05 indoors and 213-09 outdoors.

Entering this year, the goal was to get over 200’ and he did that seven times with two of those coming against Smith.

He’s somewhat limited in his outdoor training because of Wisconsin’s cold environment. He throws as late as he can in the fall until it begins snowing. He power lifts and then does indoor track and field, but does only the shot put. When it does warm up for outdoor track which begins late April, he has to work efficiently to nail down his technique in the short season which culminates with the state championships in the first week in June.

“Indoor season I work on a lot of lifting and the technical aspects of throwing. When the time rolls around when I get to go outside, I have to work  on discus really quickly because our season starts so early.”

The Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field was an especially memorable event for him this past year. He hadn’t thrown in a venue like that before. The day before he went to the venue which helped him.

“Hayward Field was something I had never been to before. It was something special to be able to throw inside a stadium like that. Personally it helped me a little bit. We went out the day before and  we were able to walk up to that room and that's when I really let everything soak in.”

In the next day’s competition, he opened with a 199-03 to take the lead, but then Brandon See threw 205-03 and then Ben Smith threw 206-07 in the second round. Ruland entered the ring for his second throw knowing he would need to be at his best.

“That's the first time I’ve been pressured in a meet I guess. Then I popped the 213.”

His following three throws, he scratched. He began to try and muscle the throws instead of allowing them to come to him. He finished the competition with a 198-08 as Smith finished with a  final throw of 210-04. His 213-09 was the second farthest throw by a junior in US High School History.

Of Smith, he says, they don’t talk that often and only compete against each other once a year at state. It’s good to have him as competition though because he finds it pushes him to be better. 

“Being from the same state, I feel like it's definitely pushed me a lot. Not many states have two,  200 foot throwers. Watching his numbers over the season, it pushes me harder to work to try and throw farther than that. And I feel like he's been back and forth all year.”

For the technical aspects of throwing, Ruland has sought out Eric Johnson of Arete Throws Nation out of Arizona. He works with him over the internet to break down his technique. His father is also looking for an indoor venue he can practice in when it is too cold to be outside.

He works on the shot put as well and thinks he can get into the 65-67 foot range with more practice. He tries to emulate Ryan Crouser’s approach of starting slow in the back of the ring and then speeding up. It’s a bit foreign to him because in the past he has tried to spin really fast throughout the throw.

He hopes this upcoming season, he’ll have a chance to break 220. He’s hesitant about revealing that number, but puts it into perspective.

“My goal this year was to break 200 and I went 213. Next year, I would love to be over 220. Of course, a national record[237-06 by Ryan Crouser in 2011] would be amazing, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because that's 20 feet farther than what I'm throwing right now. If I could get to that point, I would love to be there.”