RHS sends 4 to state tourney

RANGELY I Only six Rangely wrestlers competed in the Region 1, state-qualifying tournament last weekend in Grand Junction and four qualified for the Colorado State Wrestling Championships to be held in the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver, which started Thursday afternoon.
Rangely senior Colton Coombs qualified for the state tournament for a third year in a row, placing third in the 145-pound bracket.
“Colton lost to T.J. Shelton (eventual champion) in the semifinals but beat the rest of his opponents with ease,” head coach Jeff Heinle said.
Heinle’s son Lucas also qualified for state with a fourth place finish last weekend. The younger Heinle placed sixth at the state tournament as a freshman but did not place last year.
Senior Drew Collins will make his first appearance in the Pepsi Center after a fourth place regional finish in the 195-pound bracket.
“Drew had some good matches, losing to Tyler Kendall from Paonia in the semifinals,” coach Heinle said. “Drew beat Kendall in the Rangely Invitational early in the year, then lost to the kid from North Park in the consolation championship.”
Rangely sophomore Ethan Allred qualified the hard way for the “Big Show” this weekend. Allred finished fifth in the 152-pound bracket but had not wrestled the fourth place finisher from Dolores so he earned a “wrestle-back” to determine the fourth wrestler to qualify at 152 and won 7-4.
“Ethan wrestled exceptionally well and he was determined,” Heinle said. “He wanted to go to state bad and wrestled with all his heart to win.”
Freshman Ryan Barlow also earned a wrestle-back but did not qualify, nor did sophomore Heath Peters.
“Ryan came up just a little short and Heath wrestled tough but lost a critical match against Hayden in the consolation semis,” coach Heinle said.
“I feel we have a good shot to compete at the Pepsi Center and come away with some major wins to put us on the podium,” Heinle said.