Podcast
Catholic Sports Radio
Hosted by Bruce Wawrzyniak · EN
Helping listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life, interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports - current or former athletes, coaches, officials, clergy, administrators, and more, from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. Whether you're an athlete or a fan, youth or adult, Catholic or not, this show will deliver content that speaks to you and provides opportunities for ongoing reflection for your daily life.
29episodes
Episodes
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CSR 378 Nick Rennpage
1w ago00:32:13Tap to summarizeAs a student-athlete, he competed in swimming, water polo, and sailing, and he later coached swimming at the municipal, club, and high school levels. In addition to having turned to cycling, he is the Mission Officer at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, where he hopes to help athletes and coaches articulate a vision of sport that is deeply human, spiritually grounded, and attentive to the movement of grace in embodied experience, all while he is pursuing graduate studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, focusing on Ignatian spirituality and athletics.
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CSR 377 Gavin Doty
2w ago00:27:26Tap to summarizeHe last month led Siena University to the NCAA men's college basketball tournament for the first time since 2010, by way of capturing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship. He was the MAAC Tournament MVP, after having been the first Siena University player in five years to earn First Team All-MAAC honors. He also set a record for the most points scored by a Siena Saints player through their first two seasons. Earlier this month he announced that he is transferring and will go play at Syracuse University. Before all that he had a record-setting high school career and even starred on the Nike EYBL circuit for the Albany City Rocks.
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CSR 376 Sam Goodwin
3w ago00:31:49Tap to summarizeHe played hockey growing up and then went on to not only play junior hockey in Dallas for the Texas Tornado, but from there earned a D1 athletic scholarship to Niagara University. During his freshman year at Niagara, he and two teammates set an NCAA record and made number 2 on SportsCenter's Top 10 when they scored three shorthanded goals on one penalty, in 69 seconds. He still today plays in a weekly men's league hockey game. He is the author of the best-selling memoir, "Saving Sam," about his having been taken hostage and wrongfully imprisoned while in Syria, as part of his travels to every country in the world - all 193 United Nations Sovereign States, having attended Mass in 65 countries and visited Catholic churches in approximately 115. Listen as he mentions having even coached hockey in North Korea!
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CSR 375 Dr Michael Donato
Apr 1300:36:17Tap to summarizeHe works as a sports medicine podiatrist. At Princeton University he had played four years of varsity baseball and one year of varsity hockey. In high school he had played four years of varsity hockey, freshman baseball and three years of varsity baseball, and freshman football and three years of varsity football. He also played youth baseball and hockey as well as CYO hockey for two different parishes. While he was taking pre-med courses, he even played club rugby.
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CSR 374 Britta Curl-Salemme
Apr 600:31:43Tap to summarizeShe just won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy in February as a member of the U.S. women's ice hockey team. She is a forward in her second season with the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League. Her international experience also includes having competed in three International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championships with Team USA, winning gold in 2023 and silver in both 2021 and 2024. Plus, she won a gold medal with the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship. As a student-athlete she had played five seasons at the University of Wisconsin, winning three national championships along the way and earning several honors.
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CSR 373 Michael Sharman
Mar 3000:30:12Tap to summarizeA senior at Clemson University where he is a pitcher on the men's baseball team. Through his first six games played in 2026 he had a 4-1 won-lost record over 32 and two-thirds innings pitched and an earned run average of 2.48 with 30 strikeouts and just five walks. He had played LAST season at Tennessee, where he went 3-1, pitching 22 and two-third innings and striking out 25 batters. He also played one season at Georgia Highlands College, where recorded 101 strikeouts in 93 and two-thirds innings pitched over 16 starts in 2024. He missed the 2023 season due to injury after playing one season (2022) at Parkland College, following a high school career that saw him letter three times in baseball and earn all-state and all-region honors as a junior.
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CSR 372 Mike Hoendorf
Mar 2300:46:25Tap to summarizeHe has been coaching and working within the game of baseball for over 20 years and has been working in Catholic ministry for over ten years. He has previously spent time coaching at every level of baseball from youth to NCAA Division 1 baseball. During his coaching career he has spent time on the University of Dayton baseball staff, where he helped lead them to their first ever A10 Championship. He coached at the high school level, helping to lead two programs to their first league championships, and helped many players move on to the next level, including 2024 8th Round draft pick of the San Diego Padres, Nick Wissman. On the faith side, he is Director of Strategic Development and Midwest Sports Missionary for Catholic Athletes for Christ.
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CSR 371 Noah Kararo
Mar 1600:30:39Tap to summarizeHe currently plays for the ChiCity Orioles, as part of the Chicago Premier Baseball League. He is also Director of Baseball Operations for the Illinois Hawks, having previously served as their Director of Youth Development and having coached at multiple age levels within the Hawks organization. A former middle infielder, he played five varsity seasons at the University of St. Francis, appearing in 193 games with an on-base percentage of .346 in his career with the Fighting Saints. Prior to that he had been a student-athlete playing high school ball for Crossroads Christian Academy.
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CSR 370 Melanie Meza
Mar 900:37:00Tap to summarizeShe had a long career as a student-athlete, playing basketball for Whittier College, El Camino College, and her high school, all in California. During her time at El Camino College she made the Academic All-State Basketball Team and in her sophomore year posted double-digit rebounds in seven games. She was the team captain there and was coming off a high school career that saw her earn San Pedro News Pilot Prep Girls Basketball Player of the Year and All Santa Fe League First Team honors. She is a Catholic women's fitness coach and the founder of Rosary Girl Walk, which is a walking wellness community for Catholic women.
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CSR 369 Joni Briganti
Mar 200:35:23Tap to summarizeShe has earned USA Triathlon's Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors. She went from being a USA racer/triathlete into an International World triathlete. In 2017 she qualified for Age Group Team USA Triathlon, and this will be her 11th year racing the World Triathlon Championships. She has raced in Denmark, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, and Australia, and in 2026 will be back in Spain as well as the United Arab Emirates. She is also a USA Triathlon Certified Level 2 Coach. Plus, she teaches 13 fitness classes weekly. As she discusses here, she has been swimming competitively since she was a little girl.
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