An Overland Park track and field runner, now attending Louisiana State University, is combining his interests to build a strong athletic community in his hometown.

20-year-old Trenton Sandler has taken it upon himself to bring the running community in the Kansas City metro together to bridge the gap between hobby-joggers and professional athletes.

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While Sandler played soccer as a kid, his special knack for running took off when he joined his high school track and field team.

“I didn’t really get into running until I was like 15 or so, right after the pandemic,” said Sandler. “I realized I had a calling for it when I ran good times my junior year of high school and started getting college offers.”

While his interest in running came later in his youth, Sandler says that videography has been a passion of his since his early childhood.

“I’ve been obsessed with making videos since I was a kid, when my parents put a little camcorder in my hand for the first time,” said Sandler. “I took a formal videography class in high school, which got me really interested in the statistical side of cameras and how to compose good shots and make cinematic videos.”

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With the rise of influencers, Sandler saw an opportunity to be a voice for amateur athletes. Now, Sandler has curated over 80,000 followers across his social media platforms.

“I combined all those interests into trying to make a running YouTube channel that non-runners could relate to and to try to get past the stigmas around runners,” said Sandler.

“I wanted to try to be a normal voice in the community and make videos that are personable so that even people who don’t run can enjoy them,” he said.

A running dilemma

For Sandler, the biggest issue in the community is the discrepency between the number of people who run as a hobby compared with the number of people who actively follow the professional running scene.

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That increase in runners but decrease in professional running fans puts weight on running influencers, according to Sandler.

“Professional runners often aren’t personable and don’t put themselves out there,” Sandler told the Star.

“I think it then falls into the influencers hands to try to be more personable, so the general hobby-jogging community can watch a runner that is also an influencer,” he said. “That runner can then promote the sport of running and the competitions that are just trying to bridge that gap between professional and amateur.”

What comes next

For the second year in a row, Sandler is hosting a run club for all runners in the metro.

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Held at Roe Park in Overland Park on Saturday, July 12, the long distance run will begin with a meet-up at 7:30 am at 10400 Roe.

Sandler hopes to draw in a crowd of about 100 and to secure food truck vendors for following years.

Privacy Manager

ALPENA — The access driveway for Mich-e-ke-wis Park will be closed to all vehicular traffic while improvements to the park, including the installation of the new volleyball courts, are being completed.

Access to this area will be limited for the duration of the construction of the volleyball courts.

Also, the Alpena Municipal Council will vote at its next meeting on Tuesday to move forward with other proposed improvements at the park, which would include a new parking area, and a rain garden storm-water drainage, as well as pedestrian trials.

This closure will also allow for the removal of the existing gravel drive within Mich-e-ke-wis, but the park will remain open throughout the construction process, however, access to areas of the park under construction will be limited.

Construction of the volleyball courts will be completed through volunteer work provided by the Alpena Mixed Volleyball League, and as such, work will not be performed every day. The project is anticipated to take up to a month to complete.

The overall project includes a new paved parking lot and rain garden which will be installed tentatively in September as work is completed on the new clear well project at the water treatment plant.

This delay will eliminate overlapping construction operations which could damage the new road and parking area. The project is being funded through a Michigan Passport Grant, donations acquired by the Alpena Mixed Volleyball League, and the City of Alpena General Fund for a total project cost of $301,200.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.

Audio By Carbonatix

Mondo Duplantis figured out a way to hack the World Athletics bonus system for world records in track and field. The greatest athlete in pole vault history has bills to pay!

He is finally willing to admit what we already knew.

Duplantis already accomplished everything there is to accomplish in track and field. His place in history is already written at the young age of 25 years old. However, there is always room to improve.

And for more money!

The current world record in pole vault is set at 6.28 meters. Duplantis actually set that mark at a Diamond League meet last month. He also set the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that and the record before that. 12 in a row.

Mondo Duplantis broke Renaud Lavillenie’s record at 6.17 meters in 2020. It has been a nonstop one-centimeter increase ever since. 6.18 meters, 6.19 meters, 6.20 meters, etc. All the way to 6.28.

Here is where the financial side of his world records comes into play. World Athletics grants any athlete in track and field with a $100,000 bonus when he or she breaks a world record.

Duplantis broke 12 world records over the last five+ years for a grand total of $1,200,000!

We all know what he is doing with this extremely slow build. His goal is to rack up as many world records (and paychecks) as he can, one centimeter at a time. As he should!

However, up until very recently, Duplantis had not publicly addressed his world record money hack. Tiara Williams of Real Talk With Tee finally got him to talk.

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POCATELLO — Idaho State University has released its 2025 volleyball schedule, which includes a home opener against Northern Arizona University on Sept. 27.

The schedule, posted to the team’s social media pages this week, features just eight home games.

Grab your calendar ?️

The complete 2025 Idaho State Volleyball schedule is here#RoarBengalsRoar pic.twitter.com/O8vYyu2srf

— Idaho State VB (@IdahoStateVB) July 8, 2025

The Bengals finished the 2024 season with a 21-10 overall record and an 11-5 conference record, good enough for second in the the Big Sky, behind Northern Colorado (14-2). ISU will meet the Bears just once this season, in Greeley, Colo. on Nov. 13.

ISU Rivalry home games include an Oct. 9 visit from the University of Idaho and an Oct. 17 showdown with Weber State.

The Bengals will finish the regular season with back-to-back home matches, against Montana State on Nov. 19 and University of Montana on Nov. 21.

Football schedule tweaked

ISU will now be playing a Week 0 game.

Following one minor change to their 2025 schedule, the Bengals visit to Las Vegas and UNLV will be on Aug. 23, instead of Sept. 13. This adjustment means that the Bengals will play in one of just five Week 0 games, headlined by a matchup between Iowa State and Kansas State.

A start time of the Bengal-Rebel game is yet to be determined.

ISU will now have a bye on Sept. 13. The rest of their schedule remains the same.

Small schedule change, Same Goal ?#ROAR pic.twitter.com/dSYERCnyTU

— Idaho State Football (@BengalGridiron) July 7, 2025