AKRON, Ohio (AP) – LeBron James will not chase gold this summer in the Rio Olympics.
Agent Rich Paul told The Associated Press on Thursday night that James informed USA Basketball that he has withdrawn from consideration.
James won gold medals in the last two Olympics. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA title this week, his sixth straight appearance in the finals.
The 31-year-old James wanted to wait until after the season until making a decision about Rio, which would have been his fourth Olympics. He’s the latest big name to drop from the U.S. squad, following two-time MVP Stephen Curry, James Harden and Chris Paul.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former Kansas State track and field standout Dani Winters has been nominated for the 26th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award, the athletics department announced.
Winters is one of 517 honorees to be nominated for the prestigious award, the most in the history of the Woman of the Year program, and is one of 231 female student-athletes nominated from the Division I level. Nominees are evaluated for the award based on four criteria: academics, athletics, service and leadership.
The Plainville, Kansas, native recently graduated from K-State in May with a 3.92 GPA in communication studies. Her academic excellence earned her CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 team honors, which she received at the end of May, as well as Co-Big 12 Women’s Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which she earned at the beginning of June.
Winters has been equally successful on the track. During the indoor season, she won the 2016 Indoor National Championship in the shot put with a school-record throw of 17.97m/58-11.50. She also won the Outdoor Big 12 Conference title in the event in May with a throw of 17.39m/57-00.75.
She closed out her Wildcat career in shot put, finishing in 12th place at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with a throw of 16.45m/53-11.75 to earn Second Team All-American honors. She ended her career holding the indoor and outdoor school record in shot put. She will also compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which will be held from July 1-10.
She has also been active in the community during her time with the Wildcats, volunteering at the university, Frank V. Berman Elementary School and at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. She also did work of the Manhattan Track Club as well as work the Kansas State track camp.
The top 30 nominees, broken down to 10 student-athletes per division, will be announced in early September. The list will then be whittled down to the top nine candidates, or top three per division, before the Woman of the Year is announced on Sunday, October 16 at a special awards dinner in Indianapolis.
NEW YORK (AP) – Matt Reynolds snapped a sixth-inning tie with his first major league home run, leading Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets past the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Wednesday for a two-game sweep in their World Series rematch.
Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the second straight day and scored with an acrobatic slide to help Syndergaard (8-2) win his sixth consecutive decision. The only bad news for banged-up New York was another injury, this one to Yoenis Cespedes.
The star slugger had two hits and a walk, including a double off the center-field wall, but was removed in the sixth because of discomfort in his left wrist.
Cheslor Cuthbert homered for the Royals, who had won eight of nine when they arrived at Citi Field – where they clinched their 2015 championship with a late rally in Game 5.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A group of former Kansas State men’s basketball players, including six members of the 2010 Elite Eight team, will host the Purple and Black Camp for area youths Friday–Sunday, July 8-10 on the university campus.
Camp will be conducted daily from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Bramlage Coliseum and the Ice Family Basketball Center at the K-State Sports Complex. It is open to youngsters in third through ninth grades at a cost of $100 per camper. A camper’s grade level is determined by the grade he or she is entering the 2016-17 school year.
The list of camp counselors is expected to include the school’s all-time leading scorer and All-American Jacob Pullen (2007-11), two members of the school’s all-time winningest senior class – Jordan Henriquez (2009-13) and Martavious Irving (2009-13) – as well as 1,000-point scorers Thomas Gipson (2011-15),Lance Harris (2003-07) and Jamar Samuels (2008-12). Other expected back include Wally Judge (2009-11), Curtis Kelly (2009-11) and Akeem Wright(2005-07).
This group of former Wildcat players includes members of the Purple and Black team which will compete in The Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination, winner-take-all basketball tournament for a chance at a $2 million prize. The squad, which was the highest vote-getter among the 64 teams competing in the bracket, will begin play in the tournament on Saturday, July 16 at the Shannon Center in Chicago.
The three-day camp’s primary emphasis will be on basic fundamentals of dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding and defense, while preparing campers for middle school and high school basketball. Each camper will receive a K-State basketball and T-shirt.
There are two ways to register for the 2016 Purple and Black Summer Basketball Camp. You can sign up online at https://bruceweberbasketball.com/ or print off the camp brochure from the website and mail cash or a check to Bruce Weber Summer Basketball Camps, 1800 College Avenue, Ice Family Basketball Center, Manhattan, KS 66502. All checks should be made payable to Bruce Weber Enterprises.
Local track athletes from the youth club Track and Field United competed at the USATF (USA Track and Field) Association meet last weekend in Grandview, MO.
Skylar Mitchell
The association meet acts as a state meet, being the sole qualifier for athletes in the Missouri Valley area to advance to the Regional track meet.
Eleven year old Skyler Mitchell boasted an impressive meet in his first season of competitive track and field. Mitchell won 3 gold medals in the 3000 meter, 1500 meter, and 800 meter races.
When asked how it felt to win 3 gold medals at his first MO Valley Association meet, Mitchell said, “It feels good…I can’t explain it.
Also, having an impressive meet for the distance crew of Track and Field United was high school sophomore Aaron Modrow.
Aaron Modrow
Modrow had big personal bests in his three races and took home gold in the 3000 meter race, bronze in the 1500 meter run and an honorable 4th place finish in the 800 meter run.
Mitchell and Modrow advanced to the Regional Meet in all three races, but Modrow says he knows in order to meet his goals of earning a medal at Nationals he has to continue to work hard.
“There’s always people out there getting better, so you know you have to get out there and get better – otherwise, when you come back next season you’re going to be surprised when they’re a lot faster than you are if you don’t train,” said Modrow.
The best part about running summer track according to Modrow: “We’re a small, local team and I like that because you’re familiar with everyone and you’re friends with everyone and the memories you get to make with them throughout the season is something that you can’t get somewhere else.”
All of the athletes on Track and Field United’s roster advanced to the USATF Regional Meet in Joplin, MO July 9th and 10th.
Congratulations to:
Jasmyne Byrd, 8 and under, 100m – 7th, 200m – 2nd, Long Jump – 5th
Laniya Myers, 11-12, 100m – 8th, 200m – 13th, Long Jump – 7th
Morgan Little, 11-12, 100m – 2nd, 200m – 2nd, Long Jump -5th
Ninti Little, 15-16, 100m – 4th, 200m – 2nd, Long Jump – 1st
Tiara Smith, 15-16, 100m – 8th, 400m – 2nd
Keiana Neuman, 15-16, 100m Hurdles – 1st, 200m – 9th, 100m – 6th
Amaya Booker, 17-18, 100m – 2nd, 400m – 6th
Erik Aleman, 8 and under, Long Jump – 7th, Shot Put – 3rd, Javelin – Qualified
Draeson Gulley, 8 and under, 100m – 13th, Long Jump – 10th, Javelin – Qualified
George Byrd, 9-10, Long Jump – 7th, Shot Put – 3rd, Javelin – Qualified
The track club works with athletes of all levels and disciplines from ages 5 to adult personal training. For more information please email tracknfieldunited@gmail.com.
Check out Sports Saturday with Dewey Terrill at 8am on June 25th for a full interview.
NEW YORK (AP) – Bartolo Colon’s early injury put the New York Mets in a major bind, but they won a battle of bullpens against the best relief corps in baseball and defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Tuesday night in a World Series rematch.
Yoenis Cespedes hit his 18th home run and Asdrubal Cabrera also connected for New York, which had lost three straight and six of eight.
Held to one hit and no other baserunners Sunday as lowly Atlanta capped a sweep at Citi Field, the Mets again had trouble generating offense. This time, however, a gritty Hansel Robles (1-3) and four other relievers bailed them out by combining for 8 2/3 stellar innings in the opener of a two-game set.
Robles relieved after Colon bruised his thumb after being hit by a line drive on his fourth pitch.
Ian Kennedy (5-6) allowed two runs over four innings.
Kansas State University held a press conference today for their 2016 Track and Field Olympic hopefuls.
“We’ve had people have some remarkable successes, but in my mind I still think they’re capable of doing more,” said Cliff Rovelto, head track and field coach at Kansas State University.
Erik Kynard and Coach Cliff Rovelto
In attendance was 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist in the high jump and Kansas State alumnus, Erik Kynard.
“Before I can be better than anyone else, I have to master myself and in doing that I’ve had to learn to put myself in a place of peace and be patient with myself and not be at 100 all the time….Coach talks about it all the time, I have two speeds – I’m 0 or 100- I don’t have anything in between; but you know a volcano is a great force even when it’s dormant. So [you] have to be dormant at times so I can learn and go with the process and progress day by day and not just be erupting at all times.” said Kynard speaking on his preparations and training for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Kynard, competing for the United States and sponsored by Jordan, has an illustrious career beginning long before his Olympic Silver Medal at just 21 years young- that only cemented his legacy.
Other Olympic hopefuls in attendance included Akela Jones, the multi-event athlete at K-State that had a heartbreaking ending to her season at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Going in to the last event of the heptathlon – the 800 meter run- Jones was leading the event in a comfortable 1st place position. About 600 meters in to the race, Jones came to a screeching halt and ultimately walked a portion of her final event in the heptathlon.
“At that moment, I just realized how much I love this sport,” said Jones. “I stopped, I walked, I had a moment that wasn’t my strongest, but I turned around and I said ‘I can’t stop, I can’t walk off of this track – you gotta finish this because this is going to be preparation for something fantastic.’ And I used that moment to build myself mentally stronger, so when it comes down to the Olympics – it’s not going to happen again – ever. I’m glad that moment happened, I needed that moment to happen to teach me a lesson and I’m just going to propel on it, keep going forward and use it as motivation to do better next time.”
Coach Rovelto says that this was only Jones’ fifth multi-event although this was her senior year; many of the women she competed and will compete against have five heptathlons under their belt before their freshman year of college.
Senior shot-putter Dani Winters, from Plainville, Kansas is humbled by the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Trials and hopefully for the United States at the Olympic Games.
“I feel excited. I’m excited just to be counted amongst the ranks of these women who are so amazing and have done so many great things in their careers. I’m going to go in [to the Olympic trials] with just a positive attitude and try my best to do my best and really just compete against myself and get a PR (personal record) that day – that’s my hope,” said Winters.
Winters was the Outdoor Big 12 Champion in 2015 in the shot put and finished 12th in the 2016 Outdoor NCAA Championships.
Runner-up at the 2016 NCAA Championships in the High Jump was Jamaican born Christoff Bryan who says that he feels the pressure of being the only high jumper for his native country. Bryan says that training with Kynard and having role models in his country like the legendary Usain Bolt are inspirations for him to work harder.
In all, Coach Rovelto boasts an impressive lineup of athletes competing for various countries having one thing in common – Kansas State University is their training/school home.
The Junction City Brigade ( 11-6 ) turned in clutch plays in the late innings to sweep a doubleheader from the Independence Veterans ( 11-9 ) 3-0 and 3-2 in eight innings Monday evening at Rathert Field.
In game one with the score tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Junction City’s Colin Chandler drew a walk and was followed by Franky Valley with a single, Brett Nickle with a walk, and a single byAlex Weiss enroute to scoring three runs. Blake Grelheisl went on the distance on the mound for the win.
In game two the game went to extra innings tied 2-2, but in their at bat in the eighth Cole Henley doubled, and advanced to third on a throwing error by Independence. Henley then scored after a single to left field by Cole Brecheisen to give Junction City a 3-2 win.
The two teams play Tuesday night in a doubleheader in Independence.
