Jake Waste gets his hand raised after a victory (Photo/CBULancers Sports Information)California Baptist University wrestler Jake Waste, a 2011 graduate of Apple Valley (Minn.) High School, is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation at the NCAA Division II level at 197 pounds. Waste, a senior, has earned All-American honors in each of the past two seasons.
InterMat recently caught up with Waste.
You made the decision to move up a weight class to 197 pounds for your senior season. Why the move up in weight?
Waste: As many know, I have never been a fan of dropping a lot of weight. I was walking around at 215 pounds this summer. We have guys that fit in at 184 pounds and make the team stronger. I saw an opening at 197 pounds, so I figured I would take it. I fit fine at the weight class. I've always wrestled better when I'm up a weight. When I won Fargo I weighed in at 158 pounds and wrestled at 160 pounds. I've never had an issue wrestling up higher.
Last season you lost a tight, one-point match to Joey Davis of Notre Dame College in the NCAA semifinals. Davis would go on to finish his career as a four-time undefeated NCAA champion. How did that loss affect you?
Waste: There are losses that still bug you to this day, and that's one of them. It's fueling me right now. I think about it when I'm training. I think about it when I'm tired. It gave me that little bit of taste like, OK, I can compete with the best and I was that close to a national title. Those two things fueled me through the summer and they're still fueling me now.
You're currently ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds. Is there pressure that comes with that No. 1 ranking?
Waste: No. I've never felt the pressures of rankings before. It's nice to see sometimes when you're in the middle of the season and things aren't going right. What matters is me going on the mat and competing the best that I can. The numbers don't do too much. You don't really think about it when you walk out there. Some people say it's a target on your back, but I don't necessarily feel that. I'm just going to keep working and pushing as hard as I can.
One of your high school teammates at Apple Valley, Destin McCauley, is also ranked No. 1 in Division II. Is there pride that comes with having two wrestlers from Apple Valley at the top of the rankings in Division II?
Waste: Yeah. I grew up with Destin ever since he came to Minnesota. It's always great to see the kids I went to high school with doing well. Even the kids I didn't go to high school with, the kids I grew up with, it's awesome to see them have success because we were there together when we were taking those Schoolboy Duals journeys or going to Junior Duals. It's always great to see them prosper because we have seen each other at highs and lows.
You have been a two-time All-American. How much would a national title mean to you?
Waste: It would mean a lot. It is something that has been on my mind for the last three years. My first year I kind of second guessed myself. I didn't know my own strengths. It would mean a lot. I have been thinking about how it would feel to go out on a great note. It has been on my mind a lot to say the least.
Jake Waste looks to score on his opponent from a front headlock position (Photo/CBULancers Sports Information)Cal Baptist is currently ranked No. 12 in Division II. What are your expectations for the team?
Waste: Last year we took sixth at the national tournament with five guys. If we can get more than that in there then I think we can do some damage. I don't know what we were ranked going into the national tournament last year, but we put up some big numbers. We definitely have the potential to do the same thing this year. I don't see a reason why we can't turn the corner in the second half of the season and put up some big numbers.
You started your college wrestling career at Buffalo, a Division I program. How did you end up on the West Coast at Cal Baptist?
Waste: It's been a crazy journey. Leaving Buffalo was on me, being a kid and not making the right decisions. I ended up following my roommate at Buffalo, Justin Lozano, to California. We came out to California together because he's from California. I was going to go to a school in Northern California, but it was too rushed. I ended up just spending time at Wrestling Prep. Carolyn Wester, who runs it, helped me out. She put me up, gave me a place to stay. I was just working for her and training. My dad called me and was like, 'The U.S. Open is coming up. Why don't you go compete in it in Greco.' So I came back to Minnesota and spent about four weeks training for it. I had gotten calls before the U.S. Open from Cal Baptist assistant coach Arsen Aleksanyan about Cal Baptist. I was interested. I went and competed at the U.S. Open and took fifth. While there I met Coach Zalesky. We started talking and started the process. Next thing I know I was signed and starting the next chapter in my career.
It has been a journey. I didn't get the best grades when I was at Buffalo. Just bad decisions as a kid. You learn from those as you get older. You either learn or you go down. You either go down that wrong path and continue down it, or you learn and get better. Since I've been at Cal Baptist everything has been awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better life opportunity. The last two years I've had above a 3.0 grade point average, so it's been great.
You had success on the mat at Buffalo. You won the New York Collegiate State Championships and placed third in the conference. What's the biggest difference between Division I wrestling and Division II wrestling?
Waste: Sometimes the cultures of the rooms can be a little bit different. It's honestly the same. The way practices are run, especially at Cal Baptist, is almost the same as it is anywhere else. Division I might have a little more depth, but the practices are the same. The program at Cal Baptist is structured and run just like a Division I program.
What's it like wrestling for Lennie Zalesky?
Waste: He's such a great human. I have met a ton of people through wrestling. Sometimes it can be hard to come across a coach who is so willing to help you in not just wrestling, but in every aspect of life. If I have a question or I'm having problems with something, he's the first one there to tell me, 'This is how I did it. Here are things that have come across my plate, and here are ways you can correct it.' He understands everything you have gone through. As I said, I've had a tough journey. I've gone through so much, and he understands. In terms of wrestling, it doesn't get much better. He has been around the sport for years. He knows so much about wrestling and just life in general. It's easy to go to him with any problems. Or if I have any questions about wrestling, every question I have can be answered. There's never a 'No, I don't know that position.' It's always, 'Here's how we get to it.'
What was your experience like working with Wrestling Prep?
Waste: It was awesome. I got to coach a lot of youth kids and see the difference between how I was coached when I was a kid versus how it is nowadays. I got to use my knowledge and see these kids grow. I only spent six months there, but it was interesting to be able to implement my stuff. Obviously, I can't go into high level stuff, but just to be able to break things down for these kids and watch them pick it up, start learning and start using it in their matches, and watching the excitement that I went through when I was a kid and the joy they get when they are winning. It was awesome to watch these kids grow. At the end of the day, when I'm done, there's a future generation that is going to come through. Wrestling keeps evolving when we look at it from way back in the day to what it is now. Things evolve so much. So just to be able to implement my stuff and see how things are evolving with these kids and the way they think is awesome.
You and your father are involved with drag racing. What do you enjoy about drag racing?
Waste: I've been going to the track since I was 2 years old. So actually I've been involved in drag racing longer than I've been involved in wrestling. It's something our family just loves to do in the summers. It takes me away from the normal stresses. Drag racing actually has a lot of the same mentality as wrestling. You're working on your car. You're scrapping all night to get your car ready. When things aren't going right you've got to figure out different ways to put the parts together, how to get the parts and how to manage everything. Then when I start getting in the car I have so many different things going on. I run so many different things in my car, so I have to be mentally prepared to fire those things off, and if I don't I'm going to blow up the motor, which is a big chunk of money, or I could crash the car and that could possibly injure me. There are a lot of things that I have to be mentally prepared for. I'll do almost the same mental warmup going through everything, the visualization, before a race that I do before a wrestling match. I get super focused and I go through it. Drag racing is a huge adrenaline rush too. When you get out of that car your hands are shaking because the adrenaline dump is pretty intense. It keeps my mind focused. It's a great way to get away from wrestling at the same time. My dad and I have been doing that since I was 2 years old. It's a great way to spend time with my family and have that adrenaline rush. I love to do things that are adventurous. Anything that can really get the blood pumping is really fun for me. That's what it's been like for my dad and me. It's been awesome.
Jake Waste with Ronda RouseyYou have done some MMA training. Is MMA in your future?
Waste: It's one of my options. I'm keeping my options open. I have a few things on the table right now. It's up there. I've been around it for a long time. I remember Gordy Morgan took us to do a little jiu-jitsu over at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy when I was kid. We just learned. I've been around it since then. It's always kind of been around. When I was up in Northern California I was training with Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold. We were training every day. It was awesome. So I got to meet a lot of those guys. Then this past summer I got to train with Rampage Jackson. I was around Ronda Rousey a lot. I've been around the game a lot, and I understand how things work maybe better than a person who hasn't and is just trying to jump in. I've seen the big lights, the big stars and how the money can really impact a wrestler. Like I said, it's one of my options. I might wrestle after I'm done with college. I'm a criminal justice major, so I might just go into law enforcement. We'll see.
If you do continue wrestling, would you compete in Greco-Roman?
Waste: I haven't really decided. I guess I haven't put too much thought into that part yet. It might be Greco just because the tradition that Minnesota holds with Greco and the opportunities. I've been around Greco since I was a kid, as well as freestyle. I'm probably leaning towards Greco because I've had a lot of success in that style.
This story also appears in the Jan. 13 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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