Sophomore wrestler Matt O'Neill setting the bar at Malvern Prep: "He's always been a superstar"

A Malvern Prep sophomore wrestler is looking to win back-to-back National Prep Wrestling Championships, and his hustle started at an early age.

At 4 years old, Malvern Prep sophomore Matt O'Neill's favorite place became the wrestling mat. Two years later, when he was 6, he joined the Malvern wrestling club team.

"I never wanted to come back here," O'Neill said. "I was crying. I was like, 'This is terrible.' Those practices were rough. I remember my dad was like, 'You got to go here to teach you toughness.'"

Despite a challenging first practice, that toughness was detected early by his head coach.

"He's always been a superstar," Malvern Prep head wrestling coach Nathan Lautar said. "The kid has been destined for being great since I met him. He is an unbelievable talent."

Setting the bar

Sold on Malvern Prep's system, on and off the mat, O'Neill commutes about an hour to school daily from Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood.

"I want to be a good person when I grow up," he said, "and I think Nate is the best at that. He can teach me wrestling and how to be a good person."

"The one thing that Matt does really well is his work ethic," Lautar said. "It's unparalleled what he's doing to be where he is is setting the bar."

Setting the bar includes two-a-day practices at Malvern Prep and a club team, getting him home around 10:30 at night.

"It's something I love," O'Neill said. "It's something that's super important to me, so I'm willing to put in as much effort and sacrifice as I need to, to become good at the sport."

By the time O'Neill was in the eighth grade, he wrestled up, taking on seniors.

"It was in the finals of that National Prep tournament, which is all high schools," Lautar said, "so he wrestled a senior in high school who is now wrestling at the University of Penn."

"Philly really brought the best out of me"

O'Neill said he took a lot away from his father's lesson when he was a kid. Wrestling made him tougher.

"I think you learn a lot from losing at a young age because I can sit back and learn from my mistakes," he said. "I try not to use it as an excuse like, 'I was in eighth grade, or he was a senior.' I try to look at it like, I need to get better."

And better he became. O'Neill won a National Prep championship the following year as a freshman.

"I was just super happy. I was just throwing my hands in the air," he said. "It was so cool because my coaches were erupting. I saw my brother back there, and all my teammates, the teammates here at Malvern are very supportive. I think that's my favorite part."

This year, as a sophomore, O'Neill won gold at Powerade, a top-level tournament.

O'Neill has even helped Malvern win the state title for independent schools. Now he's setting his sights on repeating as National Prep champion while never forgetting his roots.

"Philly really brought the best out of me, especially the people you meet," O'Neill said. "I started off in Philly, that's where I started wrestling. It was a place called Police Athletic League. It was a free club, like people giving back, so I'm hoping after my wrestling career, I can give back to Philly, too. I want to show the young kids that you need to be a good person off the mat."

The National Prep Wrestling Championship begins Friday and runs through Saturday at Lehigh University.

If you know of an athlete or coach that you want to see on Hometown Hustle, you can email Krystle Rich at hometownhustle@cbs.com.