The Southerner’s picks for the February 2025 Athlete(s) of the Month are Matthew O’hara and Eli Stottrup, two wrestlers who, despite facing both mental and physical challenges, still ended up on top. This winter, South High has not one, but two state qualifiers for wrestling. Eli Stottrup in the 172 weight class, and Matthew O’hara Jr in 133, both qualified for the state wrestling tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
Stottrup placed second in section 5AA, after having to forfeit in the section final due to a concussion he suffered in the previous round. O’hara also placed second in his weight class, after falling just short in the section final. During the regular season, O’hara’s record was 22-8, while Stottrup was 11-6.
Stottrup faced many challenges this season, overcoming both a skin infection and a dislocated shoulder. During the section meet, in the second round, Stottrup got headbutted by his opponent, causing him to suffer a concussion as well. However he still pinned his opponent despite the injury. He said “He headbutted me, and I was seeing stars, but I still pinned him. When I walked off, I couldn’t see out of my right eye; it was all blurry.” Because of this, he was unable to wrestle in the section final, leading to him placing second in the section by default. O’hara also overcame a lot to reach state. In the section meet, he faced off against an opponent that he had lost to three times in a row, but he ended up beating him 13-7. O’hara reached the section final, but unfortunately lost.
Despite both wrestlers getting second place in the section, they both qualified for the state tournament, and wrestled at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul. At the state tournament, they both lost in the first round due to unfortunate seeding. The opponent that eliminated O’hara went on to win state in the 133 weight class, and the opponent that knocked out Stottrup ended up placing 4th in the state. When Stottrup was asked what his favorite parts of wrestling for South were, he said, “I really like the team, the team is a really good group of people. I’m very happy I get to work with them everyday.” O’hara said something similar, “The team, and my teammates, just getting to wrestle with them, is really fun.”
By sending 2 people to the state tournament, as well as the entire team succeeding overall, this was one of the most successful seasons for the South wrestling team in many years.
