Wagelein originally competed in partnership with Susan Behrens. After becoming the 1965 national junior silver medalists, the pair moved up to the senior level and took silver behind Cynthia Kauffman / Ronald Kauffman at the 1966 U.S. Championships in Berkeley, California. They were then sent to their first major international, the 1966 World Championships in Davos, Switzerland, where they ranked 11th. The following year, Behrens/Wagelein won silver behind the Kauffmans at the U.S. Championships in Omaha, Nebraska and at the North American Championships in Montreal, Canada. They finished 7th at the 1967 World Championships in Vienna, Austria.