Mississippi

Team USA Gymnastics is serving as a motivator for Mississippi gymnasts

Published

6 months ago

July 31, 2024

Team USA Gymnastics is serving as a motivator for Mississippi gymnasts

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Team USA Gymnastics is proving to be a highlight of the Paris Olympic Games. 

The men’s team secured a bronze medal in the team finals Monday, and all eyes are on the women who topped the podium with gold in team finals Tuesday.

There’s excitement just watching the competition, but for some Mississippi gymnasts, it’s pushing them to new heights.

We visited Courthouse Gymnastics Co. in Flowood, where students dressed in their own version of red, white, and blue leotards prepared for competitions.

“They come in four or five days a week, almost 20 hours a week,” explained Courthouse Gymnastics Co. co-owner Mario Gonzalez. “And that’s just what it takes.”

The televised events and the lead-up to them have gotten the girls thinking ahead.

“I went to the Olympic trials, and we were a little farther off, but watching them made me get really inspired to work harder in the gym,” noted Alex Burkhard.

“My dream is probably to be the next Simone Biles,” admits Elizabeth Benslar.

Simone Biles may be setting records but some of the girls brought up other members of Team USA as their favorites. Still, there was plenty of praise for Biles.

While most of us are watching in awe, the girls at Courthouse Gymnastics Co. are analyzing their every move.

“When I learn new skills, I like to watch it,” said Blakely Lott. “So it’s like, ‘Oh, I could do better at this or that. So I like to watch and learn how to do certain skills. Then it’s cool to watch like, ‘Hey, I’ve learned to do that skill now and I used to not be able to.’”

However, the biggest takeaway from watching those women compete at the highest level seemed to be the work ethic. Here’s what some of the students said about the added motivation.

“I literally told my mom, I was like, ‘That just makes me want to go to the gym and do gymnastics now,’” noted Addlyn Pipper.

“I’m gonna get to the Olympics one day,” said Laura Vaiden. “And I just, the next day at gym, I’m like, alright, tomorrow, you’re gonna work hard.”

“Just for a goal for myself, is to see how close I could be to going,” added Alex Burkhard.

Olympics or not, these gymnasts will keep up the work.

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Related Topics:Bronze Featured gold gymnastics medal olympics Team USA

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Mississippi

Winter Storm Enzo: Here’s the latest on temperatures around Mississippi

Published

5 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Winter Storm Enzo: Here’s the latest on temperatures around Mississippi

Arctic air is bringing bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous driving conditions to Mississippi this week.

Mississippi woke up to chilly temperatures this morning, but that’s just the opening act. Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and lower this week and parts of the state, including the Mississippi Coast, could see 2-4 inches of snow.

According to the National Weather Service, light snow is expected as for north as the South Delta with accumulation becoming heavier moving south. South Mississippi is under a Significant Threat with accumulations up to 4 inches on Tuesday with dangerous driving conditions and power outages expected.

The entire states faces dangerous cold with the low expected to be around 9 degrees in Oxford on Wednesday morning and 18 degrees along the Mississippi Coast. Overnight temperatures well below freezing are expected to linger across the state for several days including the Jackson and Central Mississippi areas.

Here are the expected temperatures according to the National Weather Service as of 5 a.m. Monday.

Jackson

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 34 degrees, 50% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 20 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 28 degrees, high 59 degrees

Southaven

Tuesday: Low 21 degrees, high 27 degrees
Wednesday: Low 14 degrees, high 36 degrees
Thursday: Low 23 degrees, high 44 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 45 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 53 degrees

Corinth

Tuesday: Low 18 degrees, high 28 degrees
Wednesday: Low 10 degrees, high 36 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 45 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 44 degrees
Saturday: Low 27 degrees, high 52 degrees

Oxford

Tuesday: Low 17 degrees, high 29 degrees
Wednesday: Low 9 degrees, high 37 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 44 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 45 degrees
Saturday: Low 27 degrees, high 55 degrees

Greenville

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 32 degrees
Wednesday: Low 16 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 24 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 26 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 57 degrees

Greenwood

Tuesday: Low 21 degrees, high 33 degrees
Wednesday: Low 14 degrees, high 40 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 58 degrees

Starkville

Tuesday: Low 18 degrees, high 33 degrees, 20% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 48 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 56 degrees

Yazoo City

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 32 degrees, 30% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 15 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 57 degrees

Philadelphia

Tuesday: Low 19 degrees, high 33 degrees, 40% chance of snow with little or no accumulation
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 49 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 56 degrees

Vicksburg

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 33 degrees, 40% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 20 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 52 degrees
Saturday: Low 29 degrees, high 60 degrees

Meridian

Tuesday: Low 20 degrees, high 33 degrees, 60% precipitation, snow accumulation less than 1/2 inch
Wednesday: Low 12 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 25 degrees, high 56 degrees

Natchez

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 31 degrees, 70% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 38 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 45 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 58 degrees

Brookhaven

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 32 degrees, 80% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 17 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 57 degrees

Hattiesburg

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 33 degrees, 80% chance of snow with 1-3 inches accumulation
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 25 degrees, high 57 degrees

Wiggins

Tuesday: Low 25 degrees, high 32 degrees, 90% chance of snow with 2-4 inches accumulation
Wednesday: Low 15 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 46
Friday: Low 24 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 57 degrees

Biloxi

Tuesday: Low 26 degrees, high 34 degrees, 90% chance of snow with 2-4 inches accumulation and additional snow, freezing rain Tuesday night
Wednesday: Low 18 degrees, high 40 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 27 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 57 degrees

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Chris Beard Speaks on Malik Dia’s Limited Minutes in Loss Against Mississippi State

Published

12 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Chris Beard Speaks on Malik Dia’s Limited Minutes in Loss Against Mississippi State

The Ole Miss Rebels encountered their first bump in the road in SEC play as they suffered a loss to in-state foe Mississippi State on Saturday night.

One noticeably missing piece to Saturday’s game was trasnfer center Malik Dia, who has been dominant since conference play began.

Dia saw struggles earlier on this season, seeing limited minutes due to foul trouble, but this was not the case as he only had one personal foul in his 18 minutes of play.

Dia finished the game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, but he also struggled to hold onto the ball, recording four turnovers.

Rebels head coach Chris Beard spoke postgame on why he veered away from the big man, even taking some blame for limiting Dia’s minutes.

“We need Dia to to play, and we need him to play well,” Beard said. “Should he have played more today? Maybe. Probably. Those are decisions coaches have to make. What we were doing was obviously working.

“We got back in the game, we had a chance to win the game, the game went to overtime, but certainly Dia is one of our best players. He needs to be on the court for us.”

Coming into the matchup, DIa has averaged 17.5 points per game and 10 rebounds, including his season-high 23 points matched with his career-high 19 rebounds earlier this week in a win over Alabama.

Ole Miss is set to take on Texas A&M at home on Wednesday where Beard could look back to the first-year Reb to provide a spark in Ole Miss’ first home game in 11 days. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Mississippi

Ole Miss women’s basketball slips by Mississippi State with late 8-0 run

Published

20 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Ole Miss women’s basketball slips by Mississippi State with late 8-0 run

STARKVILLE — The Ole Miss women took Part II of the weekend’s in-state basketball rivalry series against Mississippi State.

After Mississippi State men’s hoops topped the Rebels in overtime on Saturday, the Rebels’ women prevailed Sunday 71-63 at Humphrey Coliseum. Both teams held leads in the fourth quarter, but Ole Miss scored eight unanswered points in three minutes for the win.

Rebels guard/forward Madison Scott led the game with a career-high 30 points, followed by MSU’s Jerkaila Jordan with 19.

It’s the only time Ole Miss (13-5, 4-2 SEC) and Mississippi State (15-5, 2-4) are scheduled to play each other this season.

Mississippi State took control early but Ole Miss had an answer

The Bulldogs forced Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin to take a timeout five minutes into the game when they opened a 14-5 lead. Denim DeShields and Debreasha Powe both nailed 3-pointers that beat the shot clock buzzer. The lead ballooned to 18-8 before Ole Miss shaved the lead down to one at the first quarter’s end.

It was sparked by Scott, who scored five consecutive points in an 11-2 run. MSU made 1-of-6 field goal attempts in the final four minutes. Kennedy Todd-Williams scored the first bucket of the second quarter, which gave Ole Miss its first lead of the game.

Ole Miss allowed just nine points in the second quarter as it took a 34-29 halftime lead. Jordan scored seven of MSU’s nine points in the quarter.

Ole Miss, Mississippi State traded lead back and forth in second half

Ole Miss commanded the early portion of the third quarter, building a 43-37 lead. However, MSU produced a 9-1 run to regain a brief lead.

Scott scored nine more points in the quarter, but Eniya Russell kept the Bulldogs in pace with nine points of her own, including two 3-pointers. Ole Miss took a 53-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State were tied at 61-61 with five minutes remaining, but the Rebels gained separation on an 8-0 run. Four of the points were scored by Scott, who also blocked a Russell layup with one minute remaining.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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