The Waseca wrestling program turned in a strong overall performance at the Big South Conference Individual Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, January 10, held at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Competing against some of the top wrestlers in the conference, the Bluejays earned multiple podium finishes across varsity and junior varsity divisions, highlighted by a conference championship and several runner-up efforts. As a team, the Waseca varsity boys finished 7th overall in the 15-team Big South Conference field.
On the varsity boys side, Waseca was led by heavyweight Matthew Veroeven, who went a perfect 3-0 on the day to claim the Big South Conference Championship at 285 pounds. Veroeven sealed the title in dramatic fashion with a thrilling 7-4 sudden-victory overtime win over Kemper Ely of St. Peter. At 172 pounds, Slade Barnett showed tremendous grit, battling through an injury suffered earlier in the week to post a 3-1 record and finish as the conference runner-up. Lucas Selthun also had an outstanding tournament at 215 pounds, going 5-1 and earning a third-place finish.
Additional varsity results included Deven Parpart placing fifth at 133 pounds with a 3-2 record, Sam Selthun going 2-2 at 160 pounds, and Ton Bethke finishing 2-2 at 189 pounds.
In the varsity girls division, Sofia Bunn earned a fourth-place finish at 136 pounds after going 2-2 on the day. Jazelle Neal added a sixth-place finish for Waseca in the 155-pound weight class. In the junior varsity girls portion of the tournament, Hailey Proehl captured first place at 124 pounds, continuing a strong showing for the Bluejays’ girls program.
The Waseca boys junior varsity wrestlers also had an impressive day with multiple top-four finishes. Tournament champions included Kole Nelson (110.3 pounds), who went 3-0, and David Haley (152.3 pounds), who also finished 3-0 to win his division. Second-place finishes were earned by Carson Roesler (89.8), Charlie Janike (104.1), Jackson Janike (139.3), Nick Harguth (147.8), Michael Goodlander (213), and Jordan Neidecker (222.4). Additional placers included Alex Bethke (3rd at 177.7), Jordan Rosenthal (3rd at 182.5), Kelton Peirce (3rd at 206.8), Riley Root (4th at 93.9), Charles Helton (4th at 135.4), Jesse Miller (4th at 147.2), Luke Jeske (4th at 175.3), and Colton Madson (4th at 208).
The Bluejays will be back on the mat this week, returning to action on Tuesday with a quad at Mapleton against Maple River/USC, Le Sueur-Henderson, and Westfield, before traveling to Marshall on Thursday for another quad featuring Fairmont, Marshall, and TMB.