Popular Rio Rancho coach, athletic director succumbs to cancer after lengthy battle

Sal Gonzales was loved, admired and respected around the halls and the fields of Rio Rancho High School, and within New Mexico’s running community as a whole. Hearts were heavy on both fronts Tuesday upon news of his death.

“It has been a hard day,” Rio Rancho district athletic director Todd Resch said. “We knew he had been battling for quite some time, and we are struggling to come to terms that he is gone. Right now, we’re still a bit numb.”

On Monday afternoon, colorectal cancer finally claimed the life of Gonzales — Rio Rancho High’s campus AD — after a multi-year battle with the disease.

He was just 51.

“Despite everything he faced, he fought his battle with cancer with unwavering strength and determination until the very end,” his wife, Hope Alcon Gonzales, said in an email to the Journal. “... His resilience, courage, and sense of duty were a true reflection of the kind of man he was.”

And his death left many grieving deeply.

“He was a premier coach and equally a premier person in the running community,” said Hall of Fame coach Adam Kedge of Albuquerque Academy.

Gonzales’ health had been deteriorating in recent weeks. He had to resign his position at Rio Rancho last month in order to focus on his health. That his resignation occurred with the school year still in progress was an ominous sign. He had been fighting cancer for about 2½ years, and had endured multiple treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy, plus a surgery.

“It was really somber today,” longtime Rio Rancho volleyball coach Toby Manzanares said.

Manzanares, one of the school’s longest-tenured coaches, had been friends with Gonzales for many years, going back to when Gonzales himself was a cross country and track and field coach for the Rams.

“He was passionate about athletics. He was passionate about kids. He was passionate about coaches,” Manzanares said. “He wanted all of us as head coaches, all the way down to our assistant coaches, to remember that these kids will have a lasting impression of who we are and how we treated them and what they learned from us.”

Gonzales arrived at Rio Rancho from Pecos, where he was a coach and teacher.

Before he became Rio Rancho’s athletic director four years ago, he was a hugely successful cross country coach for the Rams, who won four state championships — 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020 — under his guidance. He had a long-held belief in the strength of developing program culture.

And he also, Rio Rancho principal Millan Baca said, was once a force in the classroom.

“He was a dynamic teacher,” Baca said.

Baca on Tuesday reflected on Gonzales’ commitment as AD to identifying and cultivating coaches, which Baca said was a crucial element to the legacy he leaves behind.

“Sal loved coaching. He missed it every day,” Baca said. “But he realized that developing coaches would have a greater impact on the community than if he had stayed on as a coach himself.”

Rio Rancho’s coaches learned of his passing late Monday, others around school on Tuesday.

“Sal was sort of the heart of Rio Rancho High School,” Baca said.

Gonzales’ struggle against cancer was known to many, but Gonzales himself rarely spoke of it, instead preferring to focus on the job as best he could, hailed for working through his pain and fatigue and of attending to the needs of others even above his own.

“It’s hard,” Kedge said. “He was young, and he was a fighter. He never complained.”

Gonzales leaves behind a wife, Hope, and two children, Natalie and Gabriel. His wife described him as a devoted father and husband.

“He had a passion for running, but more than anything he loved his family, and watching kids succeed,” Kedge said. His friendship with Gonzales dates a quarter century to when Gonzales coached at Pecos.

He also spoke his mind to his coaches, a much appreciated quality, Manzanares said.

“He shot from the hip, he was unapologetic about that,” Manzanares said. “He was true and honest and insightful.”

Kenny Henry, a cross country and track coach at rival Cleveland, said Gonzales made a positive impact on his career and that of many others in his profession.

“At Rio Rancho, he pushed his athletes to be the best, and he forced the rest of us to do the same,” Henry said, adding, “He’s gonna be missed. His time was far too short here.”

Sandia High’s cross country account on X paid tribute: “He was a great coach and person. He pushed everyone around him to be better.”

Gonzales’ unselfish nature, Resch said, is a trait that will long be remembered by his friends and the Rams’ community.

“He was a dear friend,” Resch said, “and he will be missed throughout this entire school district. He cared deeply for his coaches, and for the student-athletes of Rio Rancho High School. He went above and beyond for them as long as he could.”

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.