Kansas

Kansas City-based ‘Gym Bus’ teaches children gymnastics on bus

Published

1 year ago

August 29, 2023

Kansas City-based ‘Gym Bus’ teaches children gymnastics on bus

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Gymnastics is known to be a thrilling sport to watch, and right now, the whole country is watching. With just 11 months until the 2024 Paris Olympics, all eyes are on which gymnasts will represent Team USA.

At the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Simone Biles made history after earning first place in the all-around, claiming her eighth U.S. all-around title. Shilese Jones took home the silver medal.

Kansas City holds a special appreciation for bronze medalist Leanne Wong, an Overland Park native who trained at Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE). Now a junior studying pre-med and competing at the University of Florida, Wong is training hard to make her Olympic debut.

These medalists and the rest of the big-name gymnasts in the U.S. are inspiring gymnasts in Kansas City…on a bus!

It’s hard to miss the Gym Bus driving through Kansas City. It’s a school bus filled with gymnastics equipment. Owner and operator Michelle Mazel parks the bus outside of various daycares and pre-schools, where kids hop right on and learn gymnastics.

“I was a competitive gymnast under my father, Jeff Conner, who also owns the Gym Bus in Columbia, Missouri, and was actually a gymnastics coach at Mizzou,” Mazel said.

Mazel is doing more than just teaching gymnastics. She’s shaping futures by looking up to today’s role models, like Biles and Wong.

“These little, tiny gymnasts aspire and look up to the beautiful role models standing on the podiums,” she said. “We are huge fans, and we watched (the Championships) all day, amazing.”

Could Mazel be teaching the next gymnastics legend? Maybe. But she’s focused on the work that comes before the gold medals.

“It gives you the discipline, the responsibility in life, the grit that it takes that some may not have, and maybe they can find that in here,” she said.

Mazel said it was her dad’s dream to teach gymnastics out of a school bus. When she graduated from Mizzou, where she was a cheerleader, and earned her degree in physical education, she said she knew what she wanted next.

“Normally kids say, ‘I want money for graduating college, I want a trip’,” she said. “Well, they had a fleet of buses, and I wanted one of their buses.”

Mazel said giving young children this opportunity of getting active provides more than just a physical benefit.

“It’s very conducive to learning,” she said. “They’re contained, as you saw in class, they’re focused, they’re paying attention.”

The Gym Bus has five buses across Kansas City, and currently teaches 800 students. You can learn more at its website.

As for the big-name athletes, the World Championships/Pan American Games Selection Camp is in Katy, Texas, from Sept. 18-21. This is where the gymnasts who will represent Team USA at the World Championships will be finalized.

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Kansas

How to Watch: No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks vs. Brown Bears

Published

5 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch: No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks vs. Brown Bears

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks are back at Allen Fieldhouse this Sunday afternoon to take on the Brown Bears in what promises to be an exciting matchup.

Kansas (8-2) is looking to build momentum after a commanding bounce-back victory over NC State, while Brown enters the contest riding high on a six-game win streak.

The Bears, representing the Ivy League, hold a 7-3 record and are currently third in their conference standings. Their recent stretch of success will be tested as they take on a Kansas team with a rich a roaring home-court advantage.

This will be the third meeting between the Jayhawks and the Bears. The teams last faced off in 1997, with Kansas securing a dominant 107-49 victory. The only other encounter dates back to 1989, when the Jayhawks claimed another lopsided win, 115-45.

Where: Allen Fieldhouse
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN
Streaming: FUBO TV, YouTube TV

The Jayhawks will look to maintain their strong start to the season and add another win to their record, while the Bears aim to extend their streak against a tough Big 12 opponent.

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Drake men’s basketball outlasts Kansas State in overtime thriller in Kansas City

Published

12 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Drake men’s basketball outlasts Kansas State in overtime thriller in Kansas City

Drake basketball player Bennett Stirtz broke the hearts of the team he grew up rooting for on Tuesday night.

Stirtz’s 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in overtime gave the Bulldogs a 73-70 victory over the Wildcats at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Stirtz, a native of Liberty, Mo., and a lifelong K-State fan, scored 22 points to help Drake improve to 10-0. The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the national polls and turning heads in coach Ben McCollum’s first season at the helm.

Stirtz scored eight of Drake’s 10 points in overtime.

“It had everything to do with their toughness and their will to win,” McCollum said of the victory. “To Bennett specifically, I’ve had a lot of good guards, and I remember each of their ‘We’re not going to lose this game’ moments, and that was one of those moments. That says a lot about him and that says a lot about his teammates to trust him to be able to do that.”

Drake’s Mitch Mascari led all scorers with 25 points and went 8-for-10 from three-point range. Stirtz was next with 22 to go along with four assists, two rebounds and three steals. Cam Manyawu was the other Bulldog in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Mascari was 6-for-6 from 3-point distance in the first half.

The Bulldogs have crafted an impressive resume in non-conference play, beating Miami (Fla.), Vanderbilt and now Kansas State.

Drake is one of four Division I teams still undefeated (Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee are the others). The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 in games played away from home (4-0 neutral site, 1-0 road).

Drake will play host to Green Bay at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Knapp Center.

The Drake sports information department contributed to this report.

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Kansas State basketball vs Drake live score updates: Wildcats pay a visit to Kansas City

Published

20 hours ago

December 17, 2024

Press Room

Kansas State basketball vs Drake live score updates: Wildcats pay a visit to Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State basketball ends a 10-day layoff at its home away from home Tuesday against unbeaten Drake at T-Mobile Center.

The Wildcats (6-3) will try to get back on track after a second-half collapse resulted in an 88-71 loss at St. John’s on Dec. 7 as part of the Big 12/Big East Bash series. But they face a red-hot Drake team that is off to a 9-0 start under first-year coach Ben McCollum, including victories over Miami (Fla.), Florida Atlantic and Vanderbilt.

McCollum, who won four NCAA Division II championships at Northwest Missouri State, brought four starters with him to Drake, including top three scorers Bennett Stirtz (17.8 points, 6.1 assists per game), Daniel Abreu (13.9 points) and Mitch Mascari (12.2 points). The Bulldogs have five players on their roster from the Kansas City metro area.

Watch Kansas State basketball vs Drake live on ESPN+

K-State is playing its first game without backup forward Achor Achor, who left the team last week for personal reasons. Villanova transfer Brendan Hausen leads the Wildcats in scoring with 15.2 points per game, followed by super-senior forward David N’Gussan with 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.

With the shot clock winding down, Drake’s Mitch Mascari leans in for a 3-pointers — he’s now 5-for-5 — and K-State falls behind 29-9.

With 7:39 left in the half, K-State still hasn’t cracked double digits, trailing Drake, 25-8. Drake is 9 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3 — Mitch Mascari 4-for-4 — while the Wildcats are 4 of 15 and have been outrebounded 11-6 and turned the ball over four times.

Drake has hit 5 of 9 shots and has assisted on each basket, and leads 14-4 with 11:48 left in the half.

K-State is 2 of 10, 0-for-5 from 3, with three turnovers.

Mobi Ikegwuruka, who had been sidelined with an injury, was the first Wildcat off the bench along with Dug McDaniel for David Castillo at the point two minutes into the game.

Drake races to a 9-0 lead, forcing Jerome Tang to burn a timeout with 15:27 left in the half. The Wildcats are 0 of 5 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and have turned the ball over twice.

Drake, on the other hand, is 4 of 6 with a 3-pointer and looks like the better team so far and it’s not close.

Freshman David Castillo gets his first start for K-State

The Kansas State point guard merry-go-round continues to spin. True freshman David Castillo gets his first career start tonight against Drake, making him the Wildcats’ third point guard to open a game this season.

CJ Jones started eight of the previous nine games and Dug McDaniel one. Interestingly, Castillo played just two minutes the last time out in the Wildcats’ 88-71 loss at St. John’s.

The other starters for the Wildcats tonight are the usual: guards Brendan Hausen and Max Jones, with Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan at forward.

Kansas State vs Drake game time today

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 17
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.

What channel is Kansas State vs Drake game on today?

Kansas State vs Drake prediction

K-State is a slim favorite and desperate for a victory to build momentum heading into Big 12 play, but Drake has outscored its opponents by nearly 20 points per game and ranks second nationally in scoring defense. Give a slight edge to the Bulldogs.

Prediction: Drake 70, Kansas State 65

Kansas State vs Drake betting odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Tuesday afternoon:

Spread: Kansas State -1.5
Over/under: 134.5 points

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Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

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