Month: March 2015

KCKCC gears up for Blue Devil 5K and Kids Trot

by Kelly Rogge
As the weather begins to warm up and winter melts away, more people are going outdoors to get active. Kansas City Kansas Community College is offering one way to stay active with the 2015 Blue Devil 5K and Kids Trot.

The Blue Devil 5K, which is in its 11th year, is at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 2. The course winds through the KCKCC campus on the roads, walking paths and sidewalks.

The Kids Trot follows at 9 a.m. and is geared toward children 11-years and younger. Activities for the children will be provided from 7:30 to 9 a.m. by childcare volunteers, so parents can participate in the run/walk.

Registration for the 5K is $20 per person through March 31. The Kids Trot is $5. Registration includes a T-shirt, Finisher’s Medal, Goodie Bag and an all-you-can eat pancake breakfast following the event. Children in the Kids Trot will receive a participation ribbon. About 200 people participated in the 5K and Kids Trot in 2014.

“The Blue Devil 5k & Kids Trot is an annual run-walk event to promote exercise and health in the KCK area,” said Joseph Mundt, wellness specialist at the KCKCC Wellness and Fitness Center. “Secondly, the Blue Devil 5k and Kids Trot is a fundraising event that helps to raise funds for improvement of the KCKCC campus walking trail that many surrounding KCK community member use on a daily basis.”

Awards will be given to the top overall male and female finishers. In addition, the winner of each age group will receive an award and a prize. Children in the Kids Trot will run in heats based on age groups. Distances will range from 25 meters to one-quarter of a mile. No strollers are allowed.

“People should participate because it will be a morning of family fun, and they will get some exercise while they’re at it,” Mundt said. “We will have music playing, balloon animals for kids, an all you can eat pancake breakfast, and lots of awards and giveaways. Everything is included in your entry.”

For more information about the Blue Devil 5K Run-Walk and Kids Trot, visit www.kckcc.edu/campus-life/health-rec/WFC/blue-devil-fun-run-walk. Information is also available by calling the KCKCC Wellness and Fitness Center at 913-288-7610. An entry form must be filled out for each registrant.

Registration is accepted through online registration https://mysportkc.org/Register/?event=31082 or in person at the KCKCC Wellness Center. Volunteers are also needed. For information on how to volunteer for the Blue Devil 5K Run-Walk and Kids Trot, call 913-288-7370.

Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Sporting KC lends midfielder to USL affiliate

Sporting Kansas City announced on Tuesday that the club has agreed to lend midfielder Mikey Lopez to the team’s USL affiliate OKC Energy FC.

Lopez returns on loan to the USL, where he recorded one goal and one assist in 14 appearances split between Orlando City SC (nine games) and OKC Energy FC (five games) a year ago.

The 22-year-old midfielder also logged eight MLS appearances for Sporting Kansas City in 2014 during a breakout second professional season.

Lopez was the ACC Freshman of the Year in his first of two seasons at the University of North Carolina before being selected in the first round of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation adidas signing. He represented the United States at the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Turkey and made his professional debut during the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

OKC Energy FC serves as Sporting Kansas City’s exclusive USL affiliate in 2015 as part of a multi-year agreement announced in January. The club – coached by former Sporting KC captain and MLS champion Jimmy Nielsen — was named USL’s Rookie Franchise of the Year in 2014.

OKC Energy FC will move into a brand new training facility and recently renovated home stadium this season with a roster that also features three former Sporting KC players, Cyprian Hedrick, Michael Thomas and Christian Duke.

OKC Energy FC kicks off its 2015 schedule on Saturday with an in-state match-up against Tulsa Roughnecks FC, one of 12 new expansion sides in the 24-team USL.
– Story from Sporting KC

Two sought in burglary, sexual assault case

Police are searching for two suspects in an aggravated burglary and sexual assault case March 5.

According to a Kansas City, Kan., police spokesman, the incident occurred about 7:15 p.m. March 5 in the 1000 block of Barnett Avenue.

Two suspects may have been posing as bail bondsmen agents, the spokesman said.

The first suspect was about 5-4, 170 pounds, in his 30s, with blond hair and blue eyes, police said. He had a colorful tattoo on the left side of his neck that extends to his chest, according to police. He was wearing all black with a duty belt on and a black shirt with a badge and the word “detective” on it, according to police. He also was wearing a KU hat. Written on the back of the shirt was “Bail bonds” in yellow. The suspect was armed with a black handgun and possibly a taser, police said.

The second suspect, a male in his 30s, had black hair and brown eyes, according to police. His hair was shoulder-length and either curly or braided, police said. He is about 6-foot, 170 pounds, and was wearing jeans and a black jacket, according to police.

The suspects left in a 1980s or 1990s light blue or gray Suburban or Yukon, police said.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Major Case Unit is encouraging anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).