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48 | NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM LATINO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE As noted in other stories in this book, the sport of wrestling is a tradition among many Latino families, and the Sanchez clan from Cheyenne, Wyo., is no different. All four Sanchez brothers were grapplers and two of them, Gil at Colorado State University, and Ray at the University of Wyoming, garnered the greatest amount of mat success. One brother, Art, preceded Ray in wearing the brown and gold singlet (1965-1967) at Wyoming, and the last of the siblings, David was killed in a tragic automobile accident. All four wrestled at Cheyenne Central High School.Gil is also the father of University of Nebraska wrestlers Gil, Jr. (1983-1987) and Jim (1987-1989). Gil had an excellent high school career at Cheyenne Central, capped off by a third-place finish in the 1960 Olympic Team Trials, in addition to winning AAU National titles in freestyle. He then attended Colorado State University and was a 1963 NCAA 115- pound finalist. He pinned top-seeded Lowell Stewart of Iowa State to advance to the finals, but lost by fall to Arthur "Bucky" Maughan of Minnesota State University-Moorhead. Gil then went on to a successful career as a coach, with Loveland High School being one of his most recent stops serving on the coaching staff of his son, Jim. Gil Sr. was honored for his contributions to wrestling with induction into the Colorado State Hall of Fame in 1997. Not surprisingly, Gil wrestled with his brothers, and Ray credits much of his success on the mat to the lessons he learned with his siblings. Of the three brothers who competed at the collegiate level he was, at least as far as number of titles earned, the most successful of this generation of Sanchez progeny. Ray finished his high school career with an unblemished mark of 93-0, including four state championships. In addition, he helped CCHS win the state title in 1966. Ray also earned AAU National titles in Greco-Roman in 1965 and 1966. All of these successes pointed toward a stellar, and possibly historic, career at the University of Wyoming, but it was not to be. As recently as a December 2012 interview with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Ray classified his time in Laramie as a failure to live up to his lofty standards. While he finished fourth at the 1967 NCAA tournament, an injury to his back following his junior year forced Ray to give up competing in the sport he loved. He graduated and went on to have a successful career in education as a teacher, coach and administrator. He finally retired from serving as an elementary school principal after a fall that led to a fourth back surgery in 2007. In summary, the Sanchez family has a great deal to be proud of from their participation in wrestling. It has provided an avenue for successive generations to attend and complete college, and helped them become civic leaders, educators, and coaches who have trained large cohort of citizens and wrestlers in their communities. Not a bad track record at all; either on the mat, or off. 1966-1968 115lbs University of Wyoming 1961-1963 115lbs Colorado State University GIL SANCHEZ RAY SANCHEZ GIL SANCHEZ RAY SANCHEZ