He's one of the leaders on the Canisius swim team and has already secured a spot at the next level.
It's hard to believe that Jake Ruffolo didn't want to swim at all when he was younger.
"My Mom and Dad had to force me to get into the pool. They were like, no you're going to swim practice," laughed Ruffolo. "But when 7th and 8th grade hit, it was like every swimmer has a love or hate relationship with it. I couldn't live without it."
Ruffolo is now a senior on the Crusaders squad who most recently secured a spot at States for the fourth straight year.
He put up qualifying times in the 100 freestyle and the 400 free relay and is hoping to improve on his last two finishes at the State level.
"18th, 9th, hopefully 1st you know what I'm saying," said Ruffolo about how he hopes to finish. "That's what I'm hoping for at least. I mean 6 a.m. practices, I hope it gets me somewhere."
6 a.m. practices and another two hours after school.
Swimming takes up a lot of Ruffolo's time but he loves every minute.
"I wouldn't change it for the world," he said. "I mean I love these guys behind me. Everyone in here just works super hard and I'm super excited that I'm a part of such a hard working team where everyone can perform well."
And all of the hours have paid off.
Ruffolo signed with St. Bonaventure a few weeks ago, securing his spot at the collegiate level.
It wasn't an easy process, but in the end, it was all worth it.
"Sending e-mails out to college coaches, having to see what school is the right fit, so once I committed and I signed, it was a huge weight off my shoulders," Ruffolo said. "I was so excited."
