Mandi Torrez
DENVER — Some families pass heirlooms and treasures down through the generations.
Greeley’s Rangel family is pretty good at passing on quite an impressive double helix — and it carries plenty of genes for muscle, speed and everything else needed to produce one tough, athletic family.
But after a 23-year wait, another state championship will have to wait another year.
The third generation of Greeley Central Rangels made its presence known at the Class 4A State Wrestling Championships, but Central sophomore Josh Rangel missed his chance to advance to tonight’s finals.
That was the story for much of Weld County, which had five of 14 semifinalists move on to the finals.
That effort was paced by Fort Lupton, with sophomore Saul Guerrero (38-2) advancing at 119 pounds and freshman Dale Shull (36-0) advancing at 103.
“They’re handling it real well because they’re working so hard, “Fort Lupton coach Tommy Galicia said.
Northridge went into the tournament ranked No. 2 in the state and was tied for second place with powerhouse Alamosa after the quarterfinals behind Pueblo South with 60.5 points, but Alamosa pulled away for the overall team lead with 112.5. In second is Pueblo South with 93.5, and Broomfield is in third with 86.
Northridge is now in fourth place with 67.5 points. Greeley Central went into the semifinals in fourth place with 44 points and came out in 11th place with 45 points.
“It’s tough. Like I said, ‘anything can happen and this round it did and that’s how it goes,’ “Northridge coach Adam Alirez said. “We still have five guys, but some of these guys, it just didn’t happen for them.”
Same goes for Rangel (25-8), who dropped his semifinal match by a 15-5 major decision against Eagle Valley senior Chris Harvey (34-4).
Rangel advanced by winning in the quarterfinals via a 6-1 decision against Cheyenne Mountain junior Sean McMullan (26-11), whose lone point came with two stalling calls against Rangel.
Those were calls Dad didn’t agree with. There likely have been many of those through the years.
Mark Rangel followed his own father’s footsteps to athletic prowess with the Wildcats, and now doesn’t miss a match when it comes to his own kids. Mark also has Michael wrestling in the state tournament at 125 pounds.
Mark, now the principal at Heath Middle School, won his own state title as a junior in 1983 at 138 pounds and later coached Central for nine years. But watching his sons is a whole different experience.
“It’s nerve racking, “Mark said. “It’s hard to be a wrestler, it was hard to be a high school coach, but your own kids wrestling in high school is a gut-wrenching experience. I was telling my wife it was a lot easier when they were little. We would strap them in the van and head out east for all those little tournaments.”
Mark coached his sons until middle school. They were always pretty good, but both had quite the success at that age, too. Josh went undefeated in eighth grade and lost just one match in seventh grade. Same with Michael, who lost one match as an eighth-grader.
Josh started round three of the Rangel wrestling generations last year when he qualified for state, but did not place at 152 pounds. He should change that this year.
The Rangels also have something else to celebrate this week. Daughter Jessica is spending her 13th birthday at the state tournament. In 1993, when Mark was coaching at Central, Jessica was born a day before the state tournament. She’s a basketball player.
Sports have always been a big family affair.
“We go to everything, “said Paulette Rangel, Mark’s wife. “It’s kind of our family time together.”
Josh and Michael also play football and baseball and excel in the classroom. Both carry 3.8 grade point averages.
Josh is just as settled in his wrestling career with more matches under his belt heading into the state tournament.
“I’ve had more wrestling time this year, “Josh said. “Last year I got injured. I’ve just been relaxed throughout the whole thing.”
It also helps having dad there, though Mike says he tries to leave the real coaching up to the school coaches. But that doesn’t mean Dad isn’t just as important.
“He’s the one that I hear the most when I’m wrestling out there, ” Josh said. “I cancel out everybody else and just hear his voice.”
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