It happens to T.J. Shelton all the time.
He can be walking through the halls of Meeker High School and more than one person will mention it. He can be out and about in his northwestern Colorado hometown in search of something to eat and someone will bring it up.
And when he’s strolling through town, working out, sitting around with friends … everyone wants to know.
Will Shelton, Meeker’s 170-pounder, become one of the rare four-time champions? The Cowboys junior won in Class 2A at 160 pounds as a freshman and at 170 a year ago. Thursday afternoon, Shelton ran his record this season to 36-2 with a pin of Custer County’s Kody Aldrich in 1 minute, 18 seconds.
“Everyone says it,” the 16-year-old said of the constant questions. “They mean well. It makes me enjoy it even more as a (possible) accomplishment. People are noticing it, and they’re pretty good about it and are excited about it.
“Meeker has a great background in wrestling and great supporters.”
True. Meeker, about an hour north of Rifle, has won seven team championships and stands fourth in individual champions with 55. Grand Junction, with 66, is first.
Two of Meeker’s individual titles belong to Cowboys coach J.C. Watt, who won in 1989 and 1990 and admits he enjoys coaching Shelton.
“A stud,” said Watt, who isn’t surprised about Shelton’s progression. “He’s really technical and just a hard worker who put in a lot of work in the summer. You could see him moving up in youth wrestling. We knew he was coming through the ranks.
“He lost some matches as a freshman (33-6), but he has just built on it.”
In truth, Shelton, now 102-10 in his career, said thoughts of being a four-time champ isn’t new.
“It was kind of there as a freshman,” he said. “I didn’t really think about it once. Then I was in the final and it kind of hit me. I didn’t let it hit me when I was a sophomore. I just stayed focused and blocked it out.”
As for this season, he saw more of it coming.
“I knew they would,” he said of being asked. “But it’s one step at a time.”
Shelton also has other interests to help keep him grounded. He was a running back and linebacker for the Cowboys football team. In track, he won the 2A 100 meters as a freshman and was second as a sophomore. In consecutive seasons, he also has finished runner-up in the 200.
But wrestling is his focus for the next two days. He will meet Rock Ford’s Ricky Preciado in Friday’s quarterfinals in the early session.
“I don’t think there’s as much pressure as everyone thinks there is,” he said.
And you can ask him about it.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
State tournament
Where: Pepsi Center, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver
Tickets (available at the Pepsi Center): $11 for sessions 3 and 4, $10 adults, $9 for children/seniors for session 5, $13 for session 6
Session 3: Quarterfinals, first-round consolation, 10 a.m. Friday
Session 4: Championship semifinals, second-round consolation, 5:45 p.m. Friday
Session 5: Consolations, fifth- and third-place matches, 10:30 a.m. Saturday
Session 6: Finals, 6:30 p.m. Saturday
Online: , check out the brackets, blogs, photo galleries and more.
