Colorado Middle School State Champion G'Angelo Hancock in the Olympics

Greco-Roman contender 

Fountain native G'Angelo Hancock's meteoric rise to stardom could yield a gold medal

By Kyle Newman

The Denver Post

G'Angelo Hancock is proof that no dream is too big, even the ones you have a hard time believing yourself.

Hancock, a Fountain native, went from getting expelled from high school to channeling his energy and athleticism into a meteoric rise to stardom in Greco-Roman wrestling. He's a gold medal contender in the 97 kilogram (214 pound) weight class at the Tokyo Olympics, which begin Friday.

"I wrestled all the top guys the Armenian (Artur Aleksanyan), a multiple- time world champion and reigning Olympic champion and I've beaten these guys," Hancock said. "I've wrestled all the guys who got medals from Rio (in 2016), so I'm very confident. I've been wrestling these top guys now for four, five, six years now and winning.

"I believe that I am the guy who's supposed to be at the top of the podium, so that's the type of energy I'm going to bring into this."

Hancock's confidence on the international stage began to swell in 2018 when he won the Pytlasinski Memorial in Poland, pinning Aleksanyan in 28 seconds in the semifinals en route to victory. It cemented his status as a bonafide international star and buoyed the Tokyo hopes for a wrestler who finished third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials as an 18-year-old.

"When I wrestled him and I just wrestled to my abilities, (the pin) happened so fast just like the way I dreamt about it happening but I didn't necessarily know if I believed that dream," Hancock recalled. "It was a moment like, 'Dude, these (Olympic gold medal) dreams are real.' What I think can happen, can very much so happen."

But before Hancock ever got on the track to possible Olympic glory, he needed a wake-up call.

While at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Hancock then wrestling as Tracy, his given first name, made the podium at state each of his first two years. However, as a junior, his lack of off-the-mat focus caught up to him, and he was expelled from school for fighting.

Had it not been for an opposing coach wondering what had happened to Hancock, he likley wouldn't be in Tokyo. After Hancock cruised to a win in a meet against Pine Creek earlier in his junior season, Eagles coach and 2008 Olympian T.C. Dantzler wondered why the mammoth, raw wrestler wasn't at their next dual. When Dantzler found out Hancock was in trouble, he tracked him down and showed up at his door.

"I opened the door and I swear the first thing he says to me was, 'Hi, I'm T.C. Danzler, and I'm the man who's going to change your life,'" Hancock recalled. "A few minutes later I was packing my stuff. At this time my parents were definitely thinking of alternative options for discipline, like military school. Something had to happen, and T.C. was my last chance."

Danzler got Hancock onto the Greco-Roman circuit, and the wins and hype piled up quickly. He also started going by G'An-gelo, his given middle name, to pair a new name with a new mindset.

"When T.C. met me, he said, 'We need to change your name because Tracy has a bad stigma to it. But G'Angelo, now he's a whole new guy,'" Hanock said. "So what we did is I became G'Angelo Hancock, and then when I go on the mat and wrestle, that's when we let Tracy Hancock out of the cage."

With his obvious potential and his old "ego problem" cast aside, Hancock was offered a spot in the residency program at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs at age 16. With Danzler as his mentor, he lived there four years, morphing into one of Team USA's most promising wrestlers. In 2019 Hancock medaled in 13 of the 14 events he entered, racking up five titles and making 10 championship matches.

Hancock's first Olympic match is August 2nd. Those who aren't familiar with Hancock's style should expect "a very flexible wrestler" who is aggressive for his weight. He is one of two Coloradans wrestling in the Olympics for Team USA, along with two-time Olympian and Denver native Adeline Gray (76 kg/167 lbs).

"A lot of my speciality lies in my ability to be flexible, my ability to be long and induce these scrambles," he said. "These are situations that a lot of foreigners aren't used to being in, and that's why I like to bring a little funk to the table. A lot of times, they don't expect a guy who's willing to risk something. (At this weight) most guys like to play it safe. Me? Well, I like it a little dangerous." Kyle Newman: knewman@denverpost.comor @KyleNewmanDP