Thunder Sports Report

Abram and Rusty talk about the ramifications of the NCAA's blanket waiver allowing all athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID. This episode features part two of our interview with Luke Anthony involving his plans and how he feels athletes can make use of the free year of eligibility. We also hear from Dr. Paul Lee about the Masters of Global Leadership program in the Wheaton Grad School and how it may be a fit for Wheaton athletes looking to further their education during their extra year.

After technical difficulties last week, Abram and Rusty are back to finish their recap of the winter sports season with a look at the wrestling, indoor track and field, and swimming seasons. Freshman swimmer Sophia Pelling is this week's guest after she earned CCIW Co-Rookie of the Year honors despite not swimming competitively since she was 12 years old.

The Thunder Sports Report returns with Rusty and Abram reviewing the successful completion of the winter sports season. Luke Anthony joins the podcast to talk about rediscovering the joy of competition and what it was like a season with no fans.

Abram Erickson and Don Crowder discuss an 87-75 victory for the seventh-ranked Thunder men's basketball team against a spirited Carthage squad on Feb. 5, 2021.

Abram Erickson and Don Crowder share their thoughts following Wheaton's 67-58 victory against Millikin in King Arena on Jan. 30, 2021

This week's guest is wrestling All-American Carlos Fuentez who joins the pod to talk about the role his faith played in overcoming injuries at the beginning and end of his career. Carlos also talks about his memorable National Championship match and what drove him to pursue mission work in Ukraine in the midst of the pandemic.

Abram and Rusty discuss the recent winter sport schedule release by the CCIW and how protocols put in place at Wheaton will shape the ultimate success of the winter season. They also take a look at each winter sport schedule and the challenges that lie ahead for each program.

We're back for the first pod of 2021! Our guest this week is 2019 Wheaton graduate Aston Francis, who was recently named to the D3hoops.com First Team All-Decade Team. Aston is currently in quarantine in the country of Georgia where he will soon begin his professional career with Basketball Club Mega in the Georgian A-League. Aston and Rusty talk about the honor of being named to the All-Decade Team, how a buzzer beater in Bloomington added a new tool to his arsenal, how a missed shot against Augustana ultimately led to the game-winner in the Elite 8, and injuries during his record-breaking senior season and during his professional pursuit.

This week's guest is one of the most decorated track and field athletes in Wheaton's history and a three-time Academic All-American. Wheaton's first-ever CCIW Man of the Year award winner, Leif Van Grinsven was an All-American decathlete during his time at Wheaton and currently is finishing his masters degree in England while working for the World Health Organization as part of their CoVID-19 Incident Management Support team. Leif and Rusty talk about how the decathlon translates to his role in managing a global pandemic and the 24 hours that started with Track Nationals in Geneva, Ohio and ended in Geneva, Switzerland.

In this episode, Rusty and Abram look back at what stood out about one of the more unique semesters in Wheaton's history and look ahead to what may be next heading into the winter.

This week's guest on the Thunder Sports Report is head wrestling coach Jim Gruenwald who joins Rusty to talk about his journey from Maranatha Baptist Bible College to representing the United States on the Olympic stage and what drove him to pursue a career in coaching.

This week's guest is head men's basketball coach Mike Schauer, who also serves as the national chairman of the Division III Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Coach Schauer joins Rusty to talk about the process of selecting the tournament field, creating the best possible bracket, the disappointment in the sudden end to last year's tournament, and challenging coaches to get involved in the process.

On the eve of his debut with the Conquerors in The Spring League, all-time rushing leader Sola Olateju ('18) joins the podcast to talk about his career with the Thunder, training through the CoVID shutdown, and preparing to play on a national broadcast.

The Thunder Sports Report is back this week as Abram talks with men's soccer captain AJ Moyes about his career with the Thunder and how the men's soccer program has adapted to changes caused by CoVID-19.

What's it like to gameplan for Larry Bird and Michael Jordan? Find out as Rusty sits down with former Los Angeles Lakers head coach and Miami Heat general manager Randy Pfund to talk about his unique connection to both teams in this year's NBA Finals and Wheaton's unique connection to the NBA.

Our guest on episode four of the podcast is head volleyball coach Stephanie Schmidt who talks about how her team has handled the postponement of their season, how newcomers have adjusted, and the state of the Thunder volleyball program.

Our guest in episode three is senior All-American sprinter/hurdler Favor Ezewuzie. Favor held the top time in the nation when she showed up to last year's Indoor Track Nationals, only to have the event canceled due to the CoVID-19 outbreak. Favor shares about that experience and what sport she planned on playing at Wheaton before she fell in love with track and field.

Our guest on episode 2 of the podcast is WETN broadcast alumnus Judah Newby who serves as on-air talent and the Assistant Programming Director at 750 The Game in Portland. Judah and Rusty discuss what it's like to work in sports talk radio when sports comes to a stop.

Welcome to the first episode of the Thunder Sports Report podcast hosted by Rusty Lindsey and Abram Erickson. This episode features an interview with head football coach Jesse Scott.