At 14 years old, Sakhile "Solo" Mthethwa fell in love with wrestling. He aimed to be Orange County's first Black Valedictorian and State Champion wrestler. He achieved both, maintaining a 4.67 GPA, earning an Associate Degree upon high school graduation, and excelling in varsity wrestling.
Solo's achievements include Academic Varsity Letterman, Varsity Wrestling Captain, Youth club Founder & President, peer mentor for anti-racism, Academic Scholar Institute (ASI) Co-President, and 600+ hours of community service. He actively led Black Lives Matter events and founded "The Youth" to unite his community. Recognized as a Gates Scholar, Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, and Ron Brown Scholar, Solo now studies Computer Science at Harvard.
His Eclipse Award from OCAAHS celebrates his emergence as a community youth leader. In his absence from the 2023 Eclipse Awards Banquet, Ms. Rachel Carlton, his mother an African American History teacher, will accept the award on his behalf.
