[Stardust]

Maysville resident ready to step up to first state title

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll...902100392/

"Most boring thing in the world," he said.

That is, until recently.

For the past two weeks, the Campbell County standout wrestler has been cherishing that alone time in his Toyota 4Runner.

"Lately, I've been visualizing my matches at state," Shotwell said.

The junior seems poised to take one step up on the tiered podium after finishing as the state runner-up in the 140-pound weight class last year.

Shotwell, ranked No.2 in the state at 140 pounds by kentuckywrestling.com, is 52-3 entering the Region 6 tournament Saturday morning at Ryle. After being the youngest wrestler in school history to reach the state finals, Shotwell is hoping to become Campbell County's 16th individual state champion during Mike Bankemper's 27 seasons as Camels head coach.

All of Shotwell's losses this year have been to out-of-state opponents, and he doesn't have to worry about Ryle's Bryan Peace anymore. Shotwell lost three times to the now-graduated Peace last year, including in the state finals. Nor does Shotwell have to worry about the hip problem that hampered him most of last season.

This year, Shotwell's primary concern is Louisville Eastern senior Justin Davis, ranked No. 1 by kentuckywrestling.com and a state champion at 135 pounds last year.

Shotwell, who finished 59-5 last season, has a totally different mind-set entering this postseason.

"Last year, it was like, 'Well, I made it to the finals. This is pretty cool.' I wasn't as aggressive as I should've been," Shotwell said. "This year, I know I can win it."

The loss at state coupled with not placing in the Sophomore Nationals last March in Virginia Beach, Va., motivated Shotwell to intensify his training regimen and fine-tune his technique. Shotwell said his performance at the national tournament particularly stung because he had placed fifth in the freshman event the previous year. So last summer, Shotwell attended three camps.

Bankemper contends that the work Shotwell put in has translated into a more confident competitor.

"He wrestles to win and dominate, as opposed to wrestling not to lose," said Bankemper, whose team finished second in the final Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll. "Some kids can't handle the pressure. He can."

Credit Shotwell's father, Matt, for helping Korey to have that mentality. Matt Shotwell was a two-time state champion at 167 pounds for Conner in 1984-85.

Throughout this season, Matt has constantly reminded his son about Davis, the Louisville Eastern standout.

"He's always asking me, 'What are you doing that he's not doing?' " Korey said.

Korey said his dad often tells him to visualize what he is going to do to his opponents. Of course, Korey has plenty of time do that on those back-and-forth drives on the AA Highway each day. Matt, a cardiologist, moved the family from Northern Kentucky to Maysville when Korey was in the fifth grade.

Mason County High School does not have a wrestling program, so Shotwell remained active in Northern Kentucky youth programs before transferring back to the Campbell County School District for middle school.

Shotwell said his wrestling success has made the long drives and stopping for gas three or four times a week worthwhile. It could be even more worthwhile as Shotwell heads into a critical time period for college recruiting.

Or maybe not.

"I don't really want to wrestle after high school," Shotwell said, seeming very convicted of that decision. "I just want to focus on getting good grades (in college), maybe follow in my dad's footsteps and become a doctor. Wrestling's not going to get me anywhere outside of college."