Some college traditions are passed down through buildings or rituals. Others are passed down through families. For one father and daughter, wrestling became the thread that ties two generations to the same campus.
Maddie Mundsinger ’29 spent her childhood visiting Cornell’s campus with her father, Drew Mundsinger ’97. Starting in 8th grade, she joined her father and brothers in the wrestling community by stepping up to become the Oswego, Illinois high school wrestling team’s manager. When it came time to choose a college, she knew she wanted to continue being a wrestling manager.
“When I was looking at colleges, I was specifically looking for ones that had a wrestling team and offered for me to be a student manager. Cornell was one of the only schools that reached out about managing, and Coach Hamm really made me feel like I was wanted on the team,” Maddie Mundsinger said. “It just felt like the right decision for me, especially at a school that wanted you to manage and join their family.”
That feeling of community was also why Drew Mundsinger chose Cornell just more than 30 years earlier.
“I had previously visited Cornell and loved the block plan. On my second visit, I met Coach DeVries and stayed with some wrestlers in Olin,” Drew Mundsinger said. “I left knowing Cornell was where I was meant to be. The sense of family was there from the beginning.”
This elementary education major was the Midwest Conference Champion and NCAA Championship qualifier in his weight class in ’94, ’95, and ’96, but being on the wrestling team wasn’t just about wrestling for him. For Drew Mundsinger, it was also an integral part of his success as a student as well.
“Wrestling continued to build my confidence in hard situations, and I, in turn, used that to strengthen my academic success on the block plan,” Drew Mundsinger said.
Maddie Mundsinger, as a manager of the men’s wrestling team, is at every meet and dual, recording videos and ordering dinner afterwards. While she organizes gear, clothes, and food for the team, this biochemistry and molecular biology major has also been learning how to depend on those around her, a skill she says has helped her in the classroom.
“Though you don’t compete, you are still a part of that family, and the wrestlers have made me feel that way. They go out of their way to acknowledge the effort that I put in as a manager and are always willing to help me out; we’re encouraged to lean on each other,” Maddie Mundsinger said. “As a student, you can also rely on others who are in the same major as you for guidance, which has been really helpful, trying to graduate a year early.”
The value the Mundsingers gained from being part of the wrestling team is something they believe every student can reap by participating in sports, whether as a competitor, a manager, a photographer, or a student worker at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
“For most college students, their athletic career was over at high school. You are getting a chance to continue doing something you love. It doesn’t matter at what level,” Drew Mundsinger said. “Go have fun and find your athletic family.”
For the Mundsingers, they just happened to find their athletic family through their biological family.
“Starting a family legacy at your alma mater and also having her be a member of our wrestling community is
awesome,” Drew Mundsinger said. “Not many parents get to experience that.”
For more information on the wrestling team, including the roster, schedule, or results of future seasons, check out the Cornell men’s wrestling team or women’s wrestling team pages.