If you’ve attended a boys basketball game at Rangeview High School since it opened, chances are the voice of Rich Gomez is in your head somewhere.
If you happened to play for the Raiders in that span, there’s a significant chance he is in your heart.
Gomez — who died Aug. 12 at the age of 74 as announced to the school community by head coach Shawn Palmer — arrived when the school opened in 1983 and until 2025 served as one of the strongest threads in the fabric of the school’s rich athletic tradition as its public address announcer.
“Rich was an unwavering supporter, as well as a beam of light and energy to our players and basketball program, even after his retirement,” Palmer told the Rangeview community.
Details on a memorial and funeral service will be announced, while Gomez will be honored during a boys basketball game in the upcoming season according to Palmer.
Rangeview paid tribute to Gomez — an extremely proud part of Rangeview Hall of Fame Class of 2022 — last February at Rich Gomez Day.
“Rangeview has been a home, it’s been a family,” Gomez told the Sentinel that day. “I was thinking about it, I’m 72 (at the time) and I’ve been here more than half my life. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Gomez attended and announced thousands of events over the year and told the Sentinel that he could “count on my hand how many events I missed,” despite the fact that he made a 45-mile drive round trip almost daily from his home in Thornton.
“It’s Raider time!” became a familiar refrain from Gomez that let the crowd know that tip-off time was near.
As pointed out by Palmer, Gomez is the only person in Rangeview history to receive championship rings from both of its boys basketball state championships, as he got one under coach Terry Taylor Sr. (who brought Gomez over to Rangeview when it opened after they worked together previously) in 1985 as well as with Palmer in 2019.
Gomez — whose health had declined in the past year-plus — made an unexpected appearance on March 6 at the Denver Coliseum when the Rangeview boys basketball team again made a deep push in the Class 6A state playoffs and battled Cherry Creek in a Great 8 contest. Standing along the rail high above the student section with a fist raised high in the air, Gomez called “Rangeview…” with the response “Raiders!”
“Rich called me this morning and told me he was going to here,” Palmer told the Sentinel after the game. “It was really special to have him here to see it with all he’s gone through.”
Rangeview earned a 51-33 victory and pointed into the stands at Gomez after receiving the regional championship plaque (see story, here).
“Rich has always been there for us, so we had to show some love to our guy,” senior Aidan Perez said after the game.
Though basketball was close to his heart, Gomez also voiced various other events hosted by Rangeview such as volleyball and wrestling, while he also handled events for Skyview High School.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
I knew Rich for over Fifty Years, I never seen that man without a smile on his face.