Waseca senior wrestlers celebrated

The Waseca Bluejays’ wrestling team celebrated senior night during its doubleheader against Lake City and Worthington Thursday, Feb. 9. There are seven members of the team: six wrestlers and one senior. They are wrestlers JD Delgado Jr., Payton Garza, Oliver O’Brien, Christian Rodriguez, Elijah Biehn, Eduardo Trejo, and manager Maia Bartelt. They were separately acknowledged during the meet, sharing their favorite wrestling memory and their future plans.

JD Delgado Jr. - JD Delgado is a heavyweight wrestler and a captain for the Bluejay team. He is the son of JD Delgado Sr. and Alberta Delgado.

Delgado has been a wrestler for five years. His favorite wrestling memory is “getting to grow up with the other seniors and watching us get better.” He also added that he likes seeing coach Ben Janike do burpees when the Buffalo Bills lose.

His future plans are to attend Winona State University to study physical therapy. He then plans to attend the University of Minnesota to get his master’s degree.

Payton Garza - Payton Garza wrestles in the 195-pound weight division and is a captain of the wrestling team. Garza has wrestled for 13 years. He is the son of Raul and Lacie Garza.

His favorite wrestling memory is staying in the hotels with the team for section tournaments. His future plans are to attend Rochester Community and Technical College to earn his general education credits. He has committed to play baseball there.

Oliver O’Brien - Oliver O’Brien is a captain of the wrestling team and competes in the 160-pound weight class. He is the son of Ben and Ria O’Brien.

O’Brien has wrestled for 12 years; his favorite memories are the bus rides after the matches. “The best conversations I’ve had are with the boys on the bus.”

His future plans are to attend Minnesota State University of Mankato to study construction management.

Christian Rodriguez - Christian Rodriguez is a captain of the wrestling team and competes in the 170-pound weight division. He is the son of Nathan and Debbie Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has wrestled for 12 years; his favorite memory is making it to the state tournament as a freshman and rooming with Big Hertzy. His future plans are to play football at Gustavus Adolphus College where he will pursue a computer science degree.

Elijah Biehn - Elijah Biehn wrestles in the 113-pound weight class for the Bluejays. He is the son of Matthew and Kristie Biehn.

Biehn has been a wrestler for ten years: He shares Oliver O’Brien’s favorite memories of the bus rides with the team. He plans on attending North Iowa Area Community College. He has not decided his major yet.

Eduardo Trejo - Eduardo Trejo wrestled in the 152-pound weight class for Waseca. He is the son of Juana Trejo.

He has wrestled for two years; his favorite memory is getting the chance to meet coaches and friends whom he will never forget. His future plans are to focus on sports, work, traveling and having girlfriends.

Maia Bartelt - Maia Bartelt is a manager for the Waseca Wrestling team. She is the daughter of Brad and Crystal Bartelt.

Bartelt has been a manager for one year. Her favorite memory is when everyone screamed and cheered for the team during close matches. She plans to attend South Dakota State University for veterinary medicine.