Upon entering Lewis-Palmer’s athletic facilities, a look to the left shows a wall decorated with silver and gold plaques.

Various teams highlight the Rangers’ athletic spoils from the 1990s into the 2020s. A closer gaze displays a plethora of wrestling triumphs with one recurring name on each plaque: Harold McCray.

McCray spent 32 years as a wrestling coach with 27 of those at the helm of the Rangers’ program. The longtime Rangers wrestling coach’s name is still scattered throughout the Colorado High School Activities Association’s record books: 14th-most consecutive dual meet wins (25), tied for 14th for most years at a school (Lewis-Palmer, 27), most career dual meet victories (209) and various other achievements.

The Ranger wrestlers, who compete in the 45th annual Harold McCray Invitational this past weekend at Lewis-Palmer, will continue to honor the legendary coach.

“Every major accomplishment or major milestone happened under Harold,” current Rangers wrestling coach Cole Jackson said ahead of the tournament that featured more than 15 teams. “He gave Lewis-Palmer its first state champ, first league championship, first set of state placers. To have a guy around like that and set the foundation of what it means to be tough is important.”

Lewis-Palmer athletic director Nick Baker said the name was changed from the Lewis-Palmer Invitational to the Harold McCray Invitational shortly after Baker arrived in the early 2010s.

The Rangers athletic department wanted to honor McCray, who still attends the events, and the legacy he built at Lewis-Palmer. Except for 2020 when the varsity tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rangers have hosted this event each season.

“We want to pay respect to what Harold was doing. … We want the toughest teams in the area to make this a tough, gritty tournament to honor his legacy,” Jackson said. “We still have some of the representation from teams who have been here since the start and one of those teams is Falcon.”

Robert Lovato, Falcon wrestling coach, has spent 37 years in District 49 and wrestled at Falcon High School in the 1980s. Lovato’s respect bloomed for McCray as he ran into the former Rangers coach as a student-athlete and it blossomed during Lovato’s time at the helm of Falcon’s program.

“Nick Baker and Cole Jackson do a great job with that tournament and we feel it’s a great representation of Harold,” Lovato said. “He was a great coach while I was a coach and he’s an all-around fantastic guy.”

Lovato also noted the importance of the “hospitality” shown during the Rangers’ annual event. Aside from the competition, Lovato said he “loves” how the school cares for attendees.

“They put on the best hospitality room,” Lovato said through a laugh. “Those moms are amazing and they treat us so well. After coming off Battle of the Best, which is a brutal tournament, it’s nice to once again have that component where you have friendly people to talk to and they always have great snacks and drinks. They always have a potluck and it’s never been bad.”

While Lewis-Palmer senior Stuart Denham doesn’t get to enjoy all aspects of the hospitality room’s buffet, he’s learned to feast on the mat.

As a freshman and sophomore, Denham went 0-2 both years at the tournament. But the Rangers 157-pounder finished 4-0 at the 44th annual event and expects to duplicate that success.

Jackson mentioned that wrestlers must comprehend the difference between losses, and losses to good opponents. Denham heeded that advice and it helped lead him to a 33-14 season as a junior, a state berth and the ninth spot among 157-pound competitors this year.

“The Harold McCray tournament is important to me because I’ve wrestled in it all four years and had the opportunity to represent coach (McCray) and our school,” Denham said. “I went 0-2 my freshman and sophomore years and won it last year. That shows that hard work pays off and everything is about effort.”