Rangely High School freshman Harleigh Prater finished second in the 125-pound bracket of the Central Grand Junction girls wrestling tournament last Saturday, which the Phoenix won. Since Rangely does not have a girls’ wrestling team, the dedicated freshman makes the trip to Grand Junction daily for practice, then travels to compete with the team on the weekends. The D51 Phoenix girls’ wrestling team won the tournament and is made up of girl wrestlers from the Grand Valley, along with Prater, and is coached by Meeker High School alumnus Chad Dare. Dare currently has his team ranked second in the state by Tim Yount’s On the Mat Rankings – Tom Blair of Inside Colorado Wrestling, complies the girls’ rankings and he currently has Prater (24-5) ranked fifth at 125.
PHOTO by Bobby Gutierrez
