After Rangeview’s undefeated season went up in smoke last March at the Denver Coliseum, Archie Weatherspoon V doled out a big hug and an even bigger proclamation.
“The emotions were really high in the locker room after that, especially with our key seniors taking off their jerseys for the last time,” Weatherspoon recalled. “After (Rangeview head coach Shawn) Palmer addressed the team, and everyone was loitering around, I pulled in coach for the hug and told him, ‘We’ll be back here next year. And we won’t be leaving feeling like this.'”
The Raiders, the No. 3 seed in the Class 6A bracket, easily fulfilled the first part of Weatherspoon’s prediction. Rangeview, 22-3 and with no in-state losses, takes on No. 6 Cherry Creek in Friday’s Great 8 at the Coliseum.
Now comes the harder part: Winning the most difficult three games of the season in a pressure-packed, anti-shooter environment with Colorado high school basketball immortality on the line. In Palmer’s 23 seasons, the Raiders have made 10 Great 8s and are aiming for their seventh Final Four, with a Class 5A title in 2019 highlighting the program’s modern resume. Rangeview High School team captain Archie Weatherspoon V (5) dunks during a shoot around at a team practice at Rangeview High School on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Aurora. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
To be the last team standing is again the hope, and Weatherspoon knew he needed to step up his game and his leadership this season to put the Raiders in a position to win another title. Even more so following the graduation of last year’s leading scorer, All-Colorado guard LaDavian King.
“As part of that conversation we had in the locker room following that loss (in the 2025 Final Four), Palmer told me the amount of trust he had in me to lead the team this year,” said Weatherspoon, who is averaging 19.8 points. “I knew I was going to have a bigger leadership role, and I knew it was going to be another season of championship or bust. I had to step up.”
“Cinco,” as he’s called around the halls of Rangeview, has. The junior is one of three Rangeview captains, alongside sophomore Marceles Duncan and senior Aidan Perez, both of whom are also averaging double-digit scoring.
The 6-foot-6 Duncan made an unusual position switch this season from center to point guard, while Perez — last year’s sixth man — emerged as a force in his first full season with the Raiders. Perez sat out much of 2024-25 due to the 365-day transfer rule after he came over from Overland.
With that trio leading the way, Rangeview cruised through its first two playoff games with wins over Erie and ThunderRidge. The only defeats the Raiders have this year were at the prestigious Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas just before Christmas, the second out-of-state trip the team took in December following a weekend jaunt to Arizona for a couple of games earlier in the month.
All of which was designed to prepare Rangeview for this weekend and next.
“Last year, we wish we could have been in some closer games and challenged our guys a little bit more,” Shawn Palmer said. “So we went out and tried to build the toughest schedule we could. It was the second year of a two-year (scheduling) cycle, so there were certain limitations. But that’s why we went to Arizona, where we played Perry High School, who’s a four-time consecutive state champion in the highest class down in the Phoenix area.
“That’s also why we played in the top bracket (of the Tarkanian Classic), which was eye-opening, and it was frustrating to lose close games there. … We’re broke now after doing all this travel, but we just keep telling the kids that (us as coaches) wanted to put mountains in front of them to climb so that we can come out prepared for what we wanted to do for the rest of the season.”
At the Tarkanian, Rangeview went 1-3, with its three losses coming by a combined 11 points. The first defeat was to Redondo Union (California), which is currently No. 28 in the MaxPreps national rankings. Duncan said all the losses in Las Vegas were beneficial for Rangeview’s growth throughout the season.
“At the start of those games, we came out rushed, we came out a little timid because of the caliber of competition we were playing,” Duncan said. “But we learned from those experiences, and since we’ve gotten back to Colorado, we’ve been playing with confidence and belief that we are the best team every time we step on the floor.”
Rangeview’s riding a 16-game winning streak into the Coliseum, including Ws over fellow Great 8 qualifiers in Mountain Vista, Grandview and George Washington (three times). With no true post, Rangeview relies on the Duncan as well as the 6-foot-7 Perez to crash the glass. The Raiders’ starting five is rounded out by senior Anthony Andrew and junior Conrad Marshall Jr. Rangeview head coach Shawn Palmer talks about the importance of communication on the court during a team practice at Rangeview High School on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Aurora. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
“We have to defend and rebound at a high level (to win at the Coliseum),” Palmer said. “We’re very talented offensively and can score a lot of different ways, whether it be transition or in the half-court. But when we really have a strong mindset and a high level of communication defensively, and we really rebound the ball, it puts us in a great spot.”
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That trio is determined to end another notable Rangeview season on a high note.
“The feeling we had last year, none of us want to feel that way again,” Perez said. “We promised that to each other, and with that promise, we’ve been sticking together on and off the court, playing unselfishly, doing all the things we need to do in order to win three more games.”
Rangeview High School basketball team captains, from left, Aidan Perez, Marceles Duncan and Archie Weatherspoon V pose for a portrait after a team practice at Rangeview High School on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Aurora. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
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