Category: KCKCC

No. 13 KCKCC basketball stays unblemished

T’Yonne Duncan of KCKCC, one of the KJCCC Women’s Basketball Co-Players of the Week, competed recently in victories for the Blue Devils. (Photo from KCKCC sports)

by Tyler Scott, KCKCC sports information coordinator

The No. 13 ranked KCKCC women’s basketball team has had one of its best starts to the season in a long time.

After defeating University of Saint Mary junior varsity on Tuesday night and Tabor University junior varsity Wednesday night, the Blue Devils sit at 7-0 to start the year. On Tuesday evening the Blue Devils defeated the Spires 93-44 before defeating the BlueJays 61-42 one night later.

The Blue Devils have had key players who have stepped up this season, but this week it was reigning KJCCC Women’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week Jada Johnson and T’Yonne Duncan.

On Tuesday, the Spires got off to an 18-10 run to begin the first quarter. Rebecca Christodoulo scored five straight points in the period to put the team in double-digits.

The Blue Devils went up by 20 points with 4:02 left in the second quarter and eventually led 50-21 at the break. The Blue Devils stayed hot in the second half, nearly missing the century mark with the 93-44 win.

Christodoulo led the team with 17 points, Jada Johnson pitched in 16 and T’Yonne Duncan added 13. Duncan also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and the Blue Devils shot 47.1 percent from the field.

On Wednesday, the Blue Devils faced off against the BlueJays and had no trouble running past them. Both Johnson and Duncan scored in double-figures with 23 points and 17, while Victoria Jones had six points.

KCKCC will look to continue its long run with its toughest match yet this season when it takes on No. 3 ranked CCBC-Essex on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the KCKCC Fieldhouse.

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Community learns of college plans for downtown campus, successful programs

Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

The hope is that construction will begin next spring on the downtown campus of Kansas City Kansas Community College. It will be a $62 million project. The college will cooperate with Community America Credit Union, the Kansas City, Kansas, School District and Swope Health.

That was the message that Dr. Greg Mosier brought to about 90 community leaders who attended the President’s Annual Breakfast at the college Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Paul Jewell building at the college.

The year 2023 will mark the college’s centennial anniversary.

This capital fund-raising effort is the second in the college’s history. Voters approved a bond issue to build the main campus that opened in the early 1970s.

The college has been successful in private sector fund-raising with a $10 million grant from the Sunderland Foundation. The state of Kansas has awarded $12 million toward the construction.

The campus will be located in the 600 block of State Avenue. Course offerings will include high-wage technical education programs plus classes in General Educational Diploma and English as a Second Language.

A highlight of the breakfast was testimonials from two students who received scholarships. The students were Elizabeth Daniels and Madalynn McInness.

Dr. Mosier cited achievements including 15 awards student musicians received from Downbeat magazine and the college’s softball team that made it to a national tournament and was seeded ninth.

The extension course in welding at the Lansing Corrections Facility has been successful in training inmates to help assure that they will have a skill when released.

A major improvement to the main campus is a dormitory called Centennial Hall. It can house 258 students in a state-of-the-art building.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is a member of Business West.

KCKCC to hold m-pact Vocal Festival Concert Nov. 17

by Kelly Rogge, public information manager, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College will hold the m-pact Vocal Festival Concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center. The concert will feature Los Angeles based pop-jazz vocal group m-pact as well as KCKCC’s “Blue Devil Funk Band.”

In person or virtual tickets for the concert are $15 and can be purchased from the festival’s website.

Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the best pop-jazz vocal groups in the world” m-pact is known for its sophisticated sound that has won the group Vocal Group of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards and an Indie nomination from the Independent Grammys.

The group has also been named Grand National Champs of the Harmony Sweepstakes competition and has performed with artists such as Boyz II Men, Sheryl Crow, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Maynard Ferguson Big Band and Natalie Cole, among others. Their “signature sound” can also be heard in television theme songs as well as Disney feature films and on radio stations throughout the world.

Started in 1995, m-pact has made five full-length albums, three EP’s and several single releases and continues to receive rave reviews and multiple awards. Billboard Magazine named them the “Best Unsigned Band” and in 2014, the group joined with New York a cappella powerhouse Duwende to produce “I Wish for All Time,” an a cappella tribute to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. m-pact continues to thrill audiences with their innovative orchestrations and stage presence as well as their vocals as they work to stay true to the music they are performing.