Cj Wrzesien

C.J. Wrzesien is a senior Communication major with a Journalism minor at Bethel University in St.Paul, Minnesota. 

I have a passion for writing about sports, from covering games to writing features about athletes to shooting photo and video. 

I enjoy watching baseball, playing the guitar and going on long drives while listening to my favorite rock and metal albums. 

Looking for an internship or job in sports, either writing for a newspaper or working in sports information and communication for a team. 

The Clarion •

Target on their backs

Grant Nelson positions himself in lane 6 on an indoor track in Rochester, N. Y., waiting for the pass in the final leg of the 4×400 meter relay. As teammate Victor Lelinga bolts down the final stretch of the 200 meter indoor track, Nelson knows he’ll have to make up ground in the final lap if the Bethel University men’s 4×400 relay team is going to beat the State University of New York at Cortland and capture the NCAA Division III Indoor title. For Nelson and the rest of the relay team, the pres...
ROYAL REPORT •

Better late than never

As Boston’s “More than a Feeling” plays, John Solfest trots out to the pitcher’s mound at Bethel University’s Hargis Park. Solfest chose his walk-out song, “More than a Feeling” as a nod to his dad, whose favorite band is Boston. Solfest recalls many times growing up blasting the song in his dad’s old pickup.

“He likes to come out to these games here at Bethel and it’s always fun seeing him up there,” Solfest said. “I kind of picked that song for him.”

Sporting a royal blue 44Pro brand glove o
The Clarion •

From Neenah to Bethel: The fight continues for Matt Jung

It’s a cool October afternoon, and the Bethel University Royals football team is playing Augsburg University in a MIAC Skyline division matchup. Auggie quarterback Ryan Harvey drops back to pass. He floats the ball over the middle, where Bethel linebacker Taylor Glynn tips it into the air. The ball appears bound to hit the turf for an incomplete pass before Royal defensive back Matt Jung, patrolling his usual centerfield safety spot, intercepts the pass. 
It’s Jung’s sixth interception of the se...
The Clarion •

Rivalry renewed: Royals and Oles set for playoff battle once again

The 2023-24 season was a historic one for the Bethel University men’s hockey team, who finished the regular season with a 17-5-3 record good for a .733 winning percentage—the best in program history. The Royals appeared primed to win the MIAC for the first time since 2007, even defeating the College of Saint Scholastica in a double overtime thriller to advance to the MIAC championship game. 
And then the St. Olaf College Oles came to the Bethel University Arena. The fifth-seeded Oles built a 2-1...
The Clarion •

Today is a gift

On a wet and soggy field at the Ona Orth Athletic Complex in early November, the Bethel University men’s soccer team’s historic 2024 season came to a close. It was one that saw the Royals earn their most wins and conference wins since 2004 and host the first ever MIAC playoff game in program history. 
All of this washed away in a 5-2 loss to Carleton College, a game in which Bethel fell behind 3-0 and never really caught back up. 
For the Royals, the season ended in an unceremonious fashion— the...
ROYAL REPORT •

Minneapolis Miracles, the purple people eaters and uniforms

Q: Tell us how you got from being an awkward middle school cross country runner to where you are today?A: My path is centrally tied to my high school. Apple Valley High School and my district had a mentorship program, as a senior I was mentored by Kevin Siefert, who was the Vikings beat writer at the Star Tribune at the time. We basically got together twice a week and talked about how the business works, and that led to a lot of contacts. He introduced me to John Lowe, who covered the Detroit Ti...
ROYAL REPORT •

Who’s the GOAT? Four students respond with their own top 4

Edited by CJ WrzesienSports are meant to elicit debate, incite conversation, as fans spend endless hours discussing who the best utility man of the 1980s was. Everyone has their own Mount Rushmore of athletes. So Bethel Arts & Culture reporters came up with their own top four GOATs (greatest of all time) from the real, to the fictional, to some that barely qualify as athletes.– CJ Wrzesien– Rachael Van Rossum– Hudson Parker– Greta Wilson

Edited by CJ Wrzesien

Sports are meant to elicit debate,...
The Clarion •

Johnson’s final game epitomizes legacy

[Editor’s note: The headline has been changed for clarity]

Six NCAA Division III national championship flags pointed northeast as the orange streamers above each field goal post at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin fluttered in the 13-mile-per-hour wind Saturday.

The Bethel University Royals made the nearly five-hour drive to take on the fifth nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks in the first round of the Division III football playoffs. The Royals lost 42-14, fi
The Clarion •

Embracing the challenge

Bethel University freshman Nainoa Hayashi fields the two-hop ground ball at third base and fires it toward freshman second baseman Loren Owan. Owan completes the around-the-horn double play with a throw to first during infield drills. It’s 8 p.m. on a Friday night, but instead of hanging out playing video games in their dorm, Hayashi and Cannon are at baseball practice in the Sports and Recreation Center.

The pair are more than just a double play duo, however. Hayashi and Owan, along with Chris
ROYAL REPORT •

The game that transcends race

Jeremy Iwaszkowiec glances around his office on the second floor of the Robertson Center at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Surrounding him on the walls of his office are team photos of previous soccer teams, each one telling a unique story of a different team and a different season. Iwaszkiewicz is the head coach of Bethel’s men’s soccer team, a group with a more diverse collection of players than any other on campus.

Iwaszkowiec came to Bethel after assistant coaching at the Divisio