On Her Mark

The last few months have been a whirlwind for Jess Mruzik - she won a national championship with Penn State, spent a few days celebrating the holidays with her family, and then moved to Houston to start her professional volleyball career with LOVB Houston. The standout outside hitter was a huge part of the historic season for the Penn State volleyball program, leading the team on and off the court...

Professional runner Heather MacLean is as Boston as it gets - she loves runs on the Charles River, Dunkin, the Celtics, and even worked her first job at Market Basket. But now Heather is living her dream racing the 1500 for New Balance (based in MA!) She wasn't the standout in high school, or even college, but she puts in the work and trains with the best. In 2021 she punched her ticket to Tokyo,...

Hockey goalie Aerin Frankel is known as one of the best goalies in NCAA history. While a freshman at Northeastern University she helped carry the team to their first (of many consecutive!) Hockey East titles. She also earned the Patty Kazmaier Award and WHCA National Goalie of the Year Award in 2021, and the latter a second time the following ear. She is now bringing her talents to the US National...

First, Hannah Huppi rowed on flat water in college. Then, she gave coastal rowing a shot (think beach sprints!). Then came ocean rowing, and now she's training for a 1,000-kilometer row across the Arctic Ocean where she will make history as the first female to do so! Hannah and her team (John Huppi, Andrew Tropp & Jimmy Graham) all have strong athletic backgrounds and are bringing their individual...

Talent and skills can only take you so far in sports (and life, too!), it's the mindset that makes all the difference. As a lifelong athlete with great successes and frustrating setbacks, Bianca Martin knows that all to well. The 'Comeback Queen' has spent her life on the track and roads running, cycling, and then recovering from 3 shoulder surgeries in 18 months. She knows what it's like to win,...

Despite growing up around rowing, Olympian Kate Knifton didn't get on the water until she was a teen. But when she did, she never looked back!  She went on to help Texas earn their first national title (and then another one!) and represent Team USA in Paris. Kate has stayed passionate about the sport despite injuries and setbacks with the help of her teammates and family. Today we dive in to: Why...

You know her as the newest host and reporter here at NBC Sports Boston: Kayla Burton is on the pod today! Kayla's roots are here in Boston so she was so excited to come back and cover the city of champions. Sports are in her blood; she grew up playing hoops and went on to play 4 years at Lehigh University. Then, she picked up a mic and began her career covering the sports she spent her life playin...

Jess McClain's return to running has made people pay attention! First, she placed 4th at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials in February. Then, in June, Jess returned to the track to place fourth in the 10,000 meters. Both finishes earned her the title of a double Olympic alternate, so she stayed fit and ready. A week before the Paris Olympic Marathon, Jess hopped on a plane to France to prepare to m...

After some major ups and downs last season, skater Amber Glenn celebrated a major victory as 2024 US Champion! While standing at the top of the podium Amber became the first openly queer woman to win do so. She's also made history at the 6th American woman to land the triple axel (woah!) And while celebrating the highs in her career Amber has also been transparent about the lows, sharing her strug...

Olympic legend Dara Torres has 12 Olympic medals from 5 Olympic games and one of the longest Olympic careers to date. The swimmer had two 'retirements' and two major comebacks because her passion for the sport was so deep and she was eager to compete. When not in the pool, Dara has dipped her toes in sports broadcasting, motivational speaking, writing and now, coaching. She is the new head coach f...

5 World Championship titles, 2 Olympic Gold medals and 3 Olympic appearances wasn't enough for Meghan Musnicki, so she went for a fourth Olympic Games. When asked "why," she responds, "why not?" Meghan is known for her relentless work ethic, desire to learn, and always accept a challenge to compete. At 41 years old, she became the oldest US female rower to compete at an Olympic Games when she race...

Remember the UCLA gymnast who went viral a few years ago for her perfect 10 performances?! The gymnast who performed with pure joy while her teammates danced along with her from the sidelines?! That gymnast is Katelyn Ohashi and she is still spreading joy through the sport in a variety of ways. First, she's on her second "Gold Across America' tour with Simone Biles and other Olympians and elite at...

The Minnesota Lynx won game 3 (90-8) in Connecticut to lead the series 2-0. Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams had great games for the Lynx and are looking to finish it tomorrow. The Connecticut Sun struggled on both ends of the court last night to drop the first home game of the series. Alyssa Thomas summed it up by saying "we didn't come to compete" post game. On the other side, the Las Vega...

The series is split 1-1 now! The Minnesota Lynx earned the win on their home court for game 2 of the semi-finals last night (77-70). Both teams will travel to CT for games 3 and 4 (Friday and Sunday, respectively). On the other side, the New York Liberty eeked out a second win to go up 2-0 against the Las Vegas Aces. No team has ever come back from being down 2 games in the semis, but at the same...

Not only is Meaghan St Marc the founder and co-CEO of Rev'd Indoor Cycling, she is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, teammate, wife, mom, and all-around cool human. Just recently Meaghan and her team celebrated 10 years of Rev'd with more studio locations than ever, here in MA and across the country after recently franchising the business. Today we dive in to:   What motivated Meaghan and her...

The Minnesota Lynx (No. 2) hosted the Connecticut Sun for Game 1 of the semi-finals and it came down to the final minute. The CT Sun pulled out the win, 73-70. It's going to be a tight 5-game series between the two teams with some of the best defenses in the league. NBC Connecticut Sports Reporter Gabby Lucivero joins host Hannah Donnelly to break down the wins of game 1 and keys for game 2.  Foll...

The Connecticut Sun are headed to the 2024 WNBA semi-finals for the sixth year in a row. The Sun defeated the Indiana Fever in a fierce game Wednesday night. Jenna Lemoncelli, sports reporter for the NY Post, joins host Hannah Donnelly to talk about the difference makers in game 2 and the keys for success in the next series against the Minnesota Lynx. ______________________________________ Follow...

The 2024 WNBA playoffs tipped off Sunday. The Connecticut Sun (No. 3) defeated the Indiana Fever (No.6) on their home court in Uncasville, CT. Regular season play-by-play announcer Brendan Glasheen joins host Hannah Donnelly to break down game 1 takeaways and game 2 keys. ______________________________________ Follow along with Hannah on social: @_hannah.donnelly To watch the episodes: NBC Sports...

Samantha Peszek wears many hats: she's an Olympic medalist (2008), entrepreneur, gymnastics analyst and broadcaster & founder of Beam Queen Bootcamp . After becoming the youngest member of the USA National Team at 12 she went on to win team silver in Beijing and then compete at UCLA on a full ride. It was there she developed her passion for broadcasting grew. Now, she combines both passions, gymna...

Professional golfer Alexa Pano is living her dream in her second season on LPGA Tour. The 20-year-old has been working on this since she was a kid, which many of us watched on Netflix's documentary "The Short List." Splitting her time between Florida and Massachusetts, she was happy to recently play at the FM Global Championship at TPC Boston. Today we dive in to: One-of-a-kind sponsorship with Ne...

Molly Carlson is one of the best cliff divers in the world! She's seen some of the most iconic spots from 20 meters above the water and wowed crowds with her diving skills on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series . She is also the proud founder of Brave Gang, a community of over 4 million people who support one another in a self-love journey. Today we dive in to: How she found cliff diving after...

It was a summer of a lifetime for World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Madison Chock! First a wedding, then honeymoon, then a last-minute trip to Paris to receive her gold medal from the 2022 Beijing Games! Madison and some of Team USA were recently in Norwood, MA for their "Champs Camp" to prepare for the upcoming season. We dive in to: Hawaii wedding and honeymoon with partner (on and off th...

2-time Olympian Kristi Kirshe is living her dream after winning a bronze medal with the US Women's Rugby Sevens team in Paris! The Franklin, Mass native has dreamt of being an Olympian since she was a kid, and while it may not look exactly as she thought (on the rugby pitch), it may be even better! Today we dive in to: The feeling of coming home to her Franklin High School field and community with...

It's a WNBA first: SOLD OUT game at Boston's TD Garden! The Connecticut Sun are hosting the LA Sparks for the pioneering moment. To celebrate the occasion we had to have CT Sun star Veronica Burton back on the podcast ( you can listen to her first episode here !) Veronica grew up in the Boston area, had an incredible career on Northwestern University, was drafted to the Dallas Wings in 2022 where...

It's the swing between fun and frustration on the tennis court that has Dana Mathewson hooked. Right now she is the country's top-ranked female in wheelchair tennis and is preparing for her third Paralympic appearance in Paris. She's been a pioneer in the sport for several years, cementing that legacy when she became the first American woman to earn a Grand Slam wheelchair title in 2022 at Wimbled...