Hilltop Sports Report: 13 Moments from 13 Episodes (Part One)

Highlights from the podcast’s first seven episodes

The Hilltop Sports Report podcast highlights the stories of Cornell Rams student-athletes, administrators, and coaches. Guests have run the gamut from Grace Marti, Rory Light and Olivia Richards of the 2022 volleyball team, to Curt Lamb, strength and conditioning coach on the Hilltop. The podcast now has thirteen episodes under its belt, and with that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to highlight a moment from each episode.

My name is Jack Carlson, host of the podcast. I have loved working on the Hilltop Sports Report, giving Cornellians the chance to share their stories with friends, family, and fans of the Rams. I hope you enjoy these highlights – and if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the podcast!

Part One: Episodes 1-7

Episode 1: 2022 Cornell Rams Fall Sports Recap (Guests: Grace Marti, Rory Light, and Olivia Richards)

Release Date: December 23, 2022

Synopsis:

What better guests for the first-ever episode of the Hilltop Sports Report than the champs? I was joined by the 2022 Cornell Rams volleyball senior trio of Grace Marti, Rory Light, and Olivia Richards. The Rams claimed the Midwest Conference regular season and conference tournament championships, qualifying for the NCAA Division III tournament. While Cornell ultimately fell to UW-Whitewater in the regional quarterfinal, it was an extremely successful season and one worthy of highlighting.

Highlight:

Grace Marti opted to return for a fifth season, announcing this on the episode. As the conversation shifted to the potential for the 2023 Rams, Light was a Nostradamus in predicting the success of the team. 

“I think they’re gonna be really successful this coming year,” Light declared at the time. “Everybody’s really awesome. I’m sure they’re gonna [hopefully] go farther than we did this year.”

As it turns out, Light was quite right in her assessment. While the 2022 Rams were successful, the 2023 version of Cornell volleyball has taken it to the next level. This season, the Rams ascended to their highest ranking in program history (14th nationally) on September 19th. 

Head coach Jeff Meeker has established a special type of consistency at Cornell Rams volleyball (read more here). This was true in 2022 and will continue to be throughout this season and beyond.

Episode 2: Cornell Rams Track and Field Preview (Guests: Nathan Watters and Brevin Hahn)

Release Date: January 19, 2023

Synopsis:

By far the most lighthearted of the thirteen episodes to this point, Episode 2 featured Cornell Rams track and field athletes Nathan Watters and Brevin Hahn. Topics were quite wide-ranging, from an interesting take on whether chocolate or vanilla ice cream is better, to insightful game-day tips. (Brevin offered up a potential renaming of the sport, from track and field to “snack” and field.) Overall, a barrel of laughs was experienced by Brevin, Nathan, and I. 

Highlight:

Certainly, my favorite part of the episode was the “summer sausage and onesies story.” Apparently, Nathan had purchased matching cotton onesie pajamas for himself, Brevin, and their two friends Andrew and Matthew Corley for Christmas in 2021. Brevin, Andrew, and Matthew were also offensive linemen on the Rams football team, which meant that speed and endurance were challenges. Humorously, Nathan decided to run a 4×4 race against other track runners with Brevin, Andrew, and Matthew. With all four wearing the cotton onesies, and using a summer sausage as the baton. 

Needless to say, hilarity ensued. It’s doubtful that I’ve ever laughed as hard as I did on that particular podcast episode. 

Episode 3: Cornell Rams Women’s Track and Field, Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse (Guests: Natalie McAllister, Lane Zierten, Cheyenne Greenenwald, and India Smith)

Release Date: January 31, 2023

Synopsis:

This was the longest episode of the Hilltop Sports Report, lasting almost 42 minutes. Four guests appeared on Episode 3, covering track and field and lacrosse. Natalie McAllister had recently set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles in women’s track and field and offered her story on the podcast. As the men’s and women’s lacrosse seasons approached, I thought it prudent to preview them. Men’s lacrosse head coach Lane Zierten broke down his journey to Cornell and the 2023 roster, while women’s lacrosse players Cheyenne Greenenwald and India Smith lent an optimistic view for the 2023 season.

Highlight:

Simply because of the amount of content gleaned on this episode, I would be hard-pressed to select one moment in particular to focus on. All four guests gave enjoyable interviews, to be sure. Lane Zierten has such an engaging personality, and his New Jersey accent made his section of the episode even more listenable. Zierten’s preview of Cornell men’s lacrosse was infectiously optimistic. After hearing Zierten, one couldn’t help but be excited for the season. 

As the seasons played out, it was extremely rewarding to see Cornell women’s lacrosse establish a program record in wins, thanks in large part to Greenenwald and Smith. McAllister ultimately qualified for the NCAA Division III Heptathlon Championships in May, concluding a historic season in style. Needless to say, Episode 3 of the podcast featured a lot of successful individuals. 

Episode 4: Cornell Rams Men’s and Women’s Basketball (Guests: Jordan Magnani and Madison Wauters)

Release Date: February 14, 2023

Synopsis:

As Cornell Rams men’s and women’s basketball reached the end of their regular season, I thought it prudent to feature guests from each team. Women’s basketball center Madison Wauters had a solid senior season. Wauters provided a perspective into the mindset of playing the old-school power center position. Men’s basketball guard Jordan Magnani was a standout in each of his five seasons on the Hilltop. Magnani became the all-time leading scorer in his final career game, the Midwest Conference tournament championship loss against Illinois College.

Highlight:

The previous record-holder for most Cornell Rams men’s basketball career points was Cooper Kabela, a four-year teammate and longtime friend of Magnani. “We complemented each other so well,” Magnani reflected. “His presence more on the inside and my presence more on the outside. We have a great relationship. I was in his wedding, and he’s helped me along the way with everything.”

The run of Kabela and Magnani was historic, to be sure. These two were members of the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament Rams team (read more here) and will forever be intertwined with greatness at Cornell College.

Episode 5: Cornell Rams Baseball (Guest: Robbie Dombrowski)

Release Date: February 28, 2023

Synopsis:

Just the same as before the lacrosse seasons, an episode was dedicated to previewing the baseball season. First-year head baseball coach Robbie Dombrowski brought with him a great deal of youthful energy, something that the program needed. Under Dombrowski, the program philosophy underwent some changes. More aggressiveness on the basepaths became a focus, in addition to more modern strategic decisions. 

Highlight:

Dombrowski addressed his mentors during the episode, one of them being his grandfather. “He was a high school football coach for 34 years. (He would tell you he’s an eight Hall of Fames.) The things I learned from him are valuing everything off the field and trusting that the stuff on the field will then take care of itself. To try to build a culture where everybody truly loves one another, plays for one another, and cares about one another. The winning takes care of itself from there.” 

Evidently, grandpa’s philosophy is quite compatible with Cornell Rams baseball. The first year with Dombrowski at the helm was successful, collecting 21 wins. This total was tied for the fourth-most in program history.

Episode 6: Cornell Rams Softball (Guests: Mady Rainey and Claire Gugerty)

Release Date: March 28, 2023

Synopsis:

The logical next episode after baseball was softball. Junior infielder Mady Rainey and senior catcher/infielder Claire Gugerty were the guests on Episode 6. The 2023 season was a breakout year for Rams softball, qualifying for the conference tournament in May. It was clear in the early going that the 2023 season was promising and therefore made the episode even more intriguing.

Highlight:

Both Mady and Claire’s stories about their love for the game of softball stood out to me. Mady did not like sports growing up but found a home for herself on the diamond during youth travel ball. “I just realized that this was something that I could do, I was good at and I didn’t really have to fight to be good at it,” Rainey explained. “I was really confident on the field, which was very different from my everyday life.”

“I was someone who started my sports life out with soccer,” Gugerty recollected. “I remember being in fifth or sixth grade and saying to my parents, I think I know everything there is to know about soccer. I want to try softball.”

This just goes to show how the game comes differently to everyone. Additionally, it speaks to the value of sports in giving people a sense of belonging, as it did for Mady Rainey.

Episode 7: Cornell Rams Strength and Conditioning (Guest: Curt Lamb)

Release Date: April 11, 2023

Synopsis:

Curt Lamb is a fascinating case study, beyond the simple fact that his title is incredibly long. Officially, Lamb serves as Cornell College’s Assistant Director of Athletics for Sport Performance and Wellness Center Coordinator, hired in late summer of 2022. His background is an interesting combination of professional baseball and collegiate athletics. Because of his past, Lamb has accumulated a vast knowledge of the successes and failures of strength and conditioning programs. His 27-minute Hilltop Sports Report interview was quite insightful and demonstrated a clear mastery of the field. 

Highlight:

Curt Lamb does not enforce a one-size-fits-all system in the slightest. He has seen the contrasts in individual’s abilities and approaches over the years. “Every kid’s gonna be different,” Lamb explained. “Every kid is going to have a unique movement pattern. They may have some underlying things that they’ve never noticed that had before. [I can recognize this because of] years and years of coaching. Sometimes it’s talking to athletic trainers, too. Loren [Nydegger] might see something out of practice. So it’s constant collaboration.”

Loren Nydegger, Cornell’s head athletic trainer, works extensively with Coach Lamb, and communication between the two is important. Especially in the situations that Lamb mentioned, understanding that issues might not necessarily be exposed in the workouts. Without a doubt, the Rams are lucky to have Coach Lamb.

For More…

Check out Part Two of this series for highlights from Episodes 8 through 13 of the Hilltop Sports Report podcast. 

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