Perhaps it is fitting that J. Allen "Pat" Patten passed away at the end of the wrestling season.

Patten, 86, died of natural causes Saturday in Boulder, leaving a legacy that few coaches will be able to attain in their careers. He took his enjoyment of wrestling and working with his students and athletes into overtime.

It's sad Patten did not have the opportunity to attend his 62nd consecutive state wrestling tournament. He went into the hospital a few days before the start of this year's tournament at the Pepsi Center.

When I look back, I find it hard to believe he managed to attend 61 tournaments in a row, with the harried schedule he maintained over the years. Yet with all he accomplished within wrestling at the state, national and international levels, he told me how dear the state tourney was to his heart.

"I don't want to miss it," said Patten, himself a state qualifier in 1938. "If a young man makes it to the highest levels from our state, I want to be able to say, 'I saw him in high school.' "

Patten, who coached cross country, track and gymnastics and was an administrator at Boulder for 36 years, was a champion of wrestling who went beyond a whistle and a slap of the mat. He always sought ways to bring the sport into the spotlight. One of the changes he especially loved was bringing all the classifications together under one roof for state.

I was by no means an outstanding wrestler at Boulder in the early 1960s, but I had the privilege of wrestling for Patten. He was the head coach for the Panthers for 17 years, producing 12 state champions and numerous place winners. Seventeen of his wrestlers went on to win national wrestling titles at the NCAA, NAIA or AAU levels.

When I started writing my high school newspaper, Colorado Sidelines, in 1971, Pat called me shortly after to make sure I would be including wrestling.

Patten had his way of introducing me to his friends at various functions and athletic events we attended during the years, or at our many meetings at a doughnut shop in north Boulder, that always made me chuckle.

The introduction went something like this: "This is Scott Stocker. Scott wrestled for me in high school. He wasn't one of my studs, but he is my best sportswriter."

Patten and I served together on the board of directors for the Colorado Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, where his input always was invaluable.

It was Patten's love of wrestling, in which he also was an outstanding official and U.S. Olympic Committee member for 12 years, that put a new face on the sport in Colorado.

Pat graduated from Manual in 1938, from the University of Colorado in 1947 with a degree in chemical engineering, and he obtained his master's in 1948. His time at CU was interrupted by World War II with a stint in the Army, as mine was years later for my own stint in the Army that included a year in Vietnam.

We never spoke much about our experiences with the military, but he did tell me he hoped my experience as a wrestler had helped. It did.

While at CU, Pat excelled in wrestling, cross country and track, winning two Big Seven wrestling titles and a second-place conference finish in the 2-mile run his senior season.

As an official, he worked three national NCAA tournaments, two national AAUs, one national NAIA and the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

It is no wonder Patten was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000. He also was inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame (2004) and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (2006). And he was selected the U.S. Scholastic Wrestling News Man of the Year in 1968.

One of his most enduring efforts was establishing and underwriting the first Junior World Wrestling Championships in 1969. But to a lot of men and women, his greatest achievement was as their coach and teacher.

Patten's memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. March 10 at the Stadium Club at Folsom Field. I know I will enjoy a cup of coffee and doughnut in his honor.

HOOP NOTES: Hank and Alberta Tagtmeyer of Seibert will get their fill of basketball this weekend. Grandson Troy Tagtmeyer will coach the Stratton boys team in the Class A Central Region on Friday, while another grandson, Kraig Tagtmeyer, will suit up for Hi-Plains in the same bracket. On the girls side, the Tagtmeyer's daughter, Kerry Sayles, will coach Hi-Plains in the same regional, while their granddaughter, Audrey Sayles, plays for the Patriots. The good news for the Tagtmeyers is no one has to play each other this weekend. That could change next week if the teams advance to state. . . . Boys basketball coaches Steve Barnett at Regis and Jason Jacob at Chaparral have resigned their positions. Jacob will become an assistant principal at Chaparral. . . . Littleton has openings for both its boys and girls programs. . . . The Aurora Central boys basketball team advanced one position to No. 46 in the Student Sports magazine national rankings. . . . Rosters for The Show, the annual high school all-star basketball game sponsored by the Denver Nuggets, will be announced Monday. The games are set for April 6, with the girls game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the boys at 5 p.m.

ALL-STATE BASKETBALL: Head basketball coaches who would like to participate in the Rocky Mountain News' online all-state process should e-mail their address to valeriog@RockyMountainNews.com. Ballots will be e-mailed today and Friday.

ETC.: In last week's Team of the Week note on the Brush wrestling team we failed to include 119-pound champion Cody Cole. . . Dustin Croy of Regis has been selected to the Under-17 national rugby team that will represent the U.S. in Millfield, England, in April. Croy, a member of the Eastern Rockies Club, plays fullback. . . Wrestling coaches wishing to nominate a senior wrestler to participate in the All-State Games, June 9 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, contact Greg Maestas, 720-866-6500. Nominations must be received by March 10.

Rocky Preps poll

• Last week's question: Do you approve of the CHSAA moving the Class 5A basketball Sweet 16 sites to Loveland and Colorado Springs?

57.1%Yes

42.9%No

• This week's question: Which metro area facility would you most like to see host the Class 5A and 4A state basketball final four?

RockyTalk Live

Join high school writers Alan Pearce and Paul Willis online at 11 a.m. Friday at Rocky MountainNews.com to chat about the state basketball tournaments.

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