Ailing Columbine coach Barron revels in titles

Columbine sent two qualifiers to the state wrestling tournament this weekend and came away with two titles. But you could say juniors Jack Forbes and Zach Schraeder were both motivated by more than glory and medals.

Rebels head coach Ray Barron was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer Jan. 17. The fifth-year Columbine coach, who was named the Class 5A coach of the year Saturday, said it “means everything” to see the success of his two champions.

“It’s so humbling to see the kids do this well,” Barron said. “I’m living each day for each day. And I’m going to fight this as long as I can.”

The 69-year-old Barron began chemo and radiation this week for three glioblastomas in his brain. The start of his treatment came just ahead of Forbes’ run to the Class 5A 182-pound title and Schraeder’s championship push at 285 pounds.

Forbes won 13-8 against Grandview senior Joe Renner, an opponent he had lost to twice before this season, to finish 39-4. Then, Schraeder won 5-2 over Cherokee Trail senior Julian Williams in a hardfought match to finish 43-2.

“When I looked at the scoreboard and I was up, and there was one second left, I knew all that wrestling for him paid off,” Schraeder said.

Forbes also savored his championship moment at Pepsi Center with his ill coach, a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame who also coached for 34 years at Heritage. Barron has coached wrestling for 47 years overall.

“When I jumped into his arms, it was the best feeling I’ve ever felt, knowing he’s fighting through something,” Forbes said. “That made me push even harder.”

The Rebels finished 13th with 51 points as Jeffco League rival Pomona cruised to its fifth Class 5A crown in the past eight seasons.

“I did it for Levi.” An emotional weekend for Weld Central culminated in Roberto Estrada finishing off an unbeaten season with a 3-0 victory over Matthew Medina in the Class 3A 106-pound title match.

Coming just three weeks after sophomore teammate Levi Gerkin died in a single-vehicle crash, the championship took on a little extra meaning for Estrada.

“It was an amazing night. I did it for Levi,” Estrada said after the match. “Going undefeated was one of my goals at the beginning of the year, and we succeeded.”

Estrada’s run to the 106-pound crown helped push Weld Central to a seventhplace finish in the team standings.

“It’s probably the best season that we’ve had in our school’s history.” Weld Central coach Elliot Copeland said of Estrada’s 48-0 campaign. “It was really a perfect season for him and he battled through a bunch of adversity.”

Dennis Pleuss of Jeffco Athletics contributed to this report.