Rulison reminisces

PLAINS – Unless one does track, springtime means the end of sports and the soon-to-end school year. If one is a senior, high school sports and high school as a whole end for good. This is the situation senior James Rulison finds himself now. Football and basketball are behind him and college lies ahead.

As he reflected on his final basketball season, Rulison was pleased overall with the outcome.

“It went better than we expected, we made it to Divisionals so we did much better than we did the year before,” Rulison said. “Making Divisionals was our goal and beating Thompson twice was nice.”

Rulison had fun traveling to Divisionals and staying in the hotel with his friends and teammates. Even though the Horsemen did not win a game at the tournament, just making it there was appreciated. The Horsemen agreed it was a good experience.

Three years had passed since the Horsemen last made it to Divisionals in basketball. Rulison was a junior varsity freshman then and missed out. This past season was his last chance to go and thankfully the Horsemen succeeded.

Rulison was happy to be playing sports at all this year. During the first football game of his junior year, Rulison suffered a serious knee injury. He tore his ACL meniscus and had to have surgery. He missed out on football and basketball his junior year only to come back strong his senior year after months of physical therapy

“I worked hard in physical therapy to make the deadline so I could play. It was tough and painful, but it is mostly mental,” Rulison said. “You just have to get through the pain then you’re fine. I was really happy to get through it and to play this year.”

Rulison’s knee held up through football and basketball this year so well that he has decided to stay active this summer.

He will be playing baseball as well as football. Rulison was selected to play in the All Star football game in June. Rulison found out he had been chosen a couple of weeks ago. This will be his first All Star experience. He said he is excited and cannot wait to play.

Rulison may continue to play football past the summer. He wants to play college ball and intends to try to make it as a walk-on. Rulison’s love and talent for football will keep him playing for years to come.

“I love football; it is my favorite sport by far. I love the physicality of it. I love the contact. I always fouled out in basketball,” he said with a laugh. “I can’t wait to play football.”

Rulison will be attending MSU Northern in Havre come fall. He plans on studying diesel mechanics there like his older brother. Rulison discovered his interest in mechanics from fixing up his own truck.

Despite his college plans, Rulison admitted he loves the place in which he grew up and is going to miss certain things and people.

“I’m going to miss my friends, just having fun and not having to do much,” Rulison said.

As high school comes to an end some seniors mourn the end of an era while others celebrate what lies ahead, and some do both. For now, Rulison eagerly awaits the next chapter of his life.

“I am going to go up there sometime this spring to check out the campus. Havre has everything I like to do like hunting and fishing. That’s pretty much what I like to do in my spare time,” Rulison said. “I’m looking forward to doing new things and meeting new people since I’ve been here forever.”