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SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Unties
gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, June 29, 2019
HIGH SCHOOL
BASKETBALL
BASKETBALL
Knights pick
Guthrie as
new coach of
boys program
Johnson High School named Chris Guthrie
as head boys basketball coach Friday after
noon, per a statement made by the athletic
department.
“Coach Guthrie is an excellent teacher of
the game,” Johnson assistant principal Jona
than Edwards said. “He has a track record of
developing student-athletes
into quality players, and
most importantly, into high
quality young people. He is
a man of character, and he
brings with him a wealth of
experience and basketball
knowledge. We are really
looking forward to him
bringing these elements
to the Johnson basketball
program and watching our student athletes
develop under his leadership.”
The new hire possesses 33 years of coaching
experience and 31 years in education.
His head coaching stops include three stints
at Lumpkin County High and one at Chestatee
High, while also serving as an assistant coach
for the boys and girls basketball programs at
Lumpkin County for 20 years. He served two
seasons as assistant coach at Chestatee.
Compiled by Katherine Wright
HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER
Flowery Branch’s Wadsworth
picked as Girls Player of
the Year in Region 7-4A
Flowery Branch freshman Maggie
Wadsworth was named Region 7-4A girls soc
cer player of the year, while the Lady Falcons’
coach Anel Lilic also received top honors in an
announcement Friday.
Wadsworth, Hannah Pimental, Larsyn Reid
and McKenzie Kent were named All-Region
for the state runner-up Lady Falcons. Also,
Chestatee’s Kyleigh Drew was named to the
team.
Ella Reilly, Madi Shewbert, Caroline
Wysocki and Anna Grady of Flowery Branch
rounded out second-team honorees.
Compiled by Katherine Wright
BRAVES 6, MCTS 2
Soroka, Riley
carry Atlanta
to open series
Associated Press
Streaking rookie Mike Soroka outpitched Cy
Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, and the
Atlanta Braves got a two-run homer from fel
low youngster Austin Riley
in a 6-2 victory Friday night
over the plummeting New
York Mets.
Rookie slugger Pete
Alonso hit his 28th home
run for the Mets, who lost
their sixth straight and fell
a season-worst nine games
under .500 at 37-46. New
York returned home after
blowing multiple-run leads in five consecutive
defeats on a dreadful 3-8 road trip, but fared
no better while getting booed by its own fans
at Citi Field.
Johan Camargo hit a three-run double off
reliever Robert Gsellman to make it 6-2 in the
eighth inning, the latest redundant flop for a
failing Mets bullpen.
The 21-year-old Soroka (9-1) allowed two
■ Please see BRAVES, 2B
Soroka
Foundation with the youth
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
East Hall boys basketball coach Seth Vining, right, watches camp participants Thursday during his summer camp at the school’s
gym.
Back from retirement, Vining teaches kids the fundamentals
Campers practice during the East Hall basketball camp
Thursday in Gainesville.
BY KATHERINE WRIGHT
kwright@gainesvilletimes.com
East Hall High opened its
gymnasium doors to the com
munity’s children this week,
all in an effort to nourish the
program’s passion for basket
ball and further cultivate the
fluid relationship.
Dressed in their black
and gold jerseys, the Vikings
varsity team embodied tran
scendent beings to the fourth-
eighth grade students on hand
for the camp, smiling in awe.
“This week has been such
a positive week for our kids
and our program,” Vikings
boys coach Seth Vining said.
“...They’re all our players,
they’re here helping, giv
ing back to the community.
They have been great. I can’t
say anything but good things
about what our players are
doing.”
The East Hall commu
nity has long been a basket
ball community, and every
summer this camp works to
tighten their bond with the
high school.
That alone was one of
Vining’s greatest joys when
he envisioned coming out
of retirement to coach the
Vikings once more.
“Basketball is very impor
tant to the community,” he
said. “It’s always fun to coach
when what you’re doing
means a lot to a lot of people.
From that standpoint, it’s
exciting to be a part of it.”
When Vining decided to
return to coaching after retir
ing six years ago, the outpour
ing of support humbled the
67-year-old. People across
East Hall were reaching out
left and right, congratulating
the legendary instructor.
Though many of his current
players have no recollection
of Vining’s original tenure as
East Hall’s boys coach during
1993-2004 (as most were not
born yet), the older genera
tions never forgot.
TJ Campbell took notes
from his father Tony Cam
bell, who played for Vining
in the mid-1990s, on what to
expect from the new coach.
Tony responded emphati
cally, “Run!”
“He likes to make (his
players) run a lot, and thank
God, he hasn’t made us run
as much as what my dad has
told me,” TJ said. “But in the
season, we’re probably going
to run a lot.
“He told me overall, he’s
one of the best coaches you’ll
ever have. He’s a really good
coach, great person.”
TJ is one of many East Hall
athletes who help bridge the
age gap within the basket
ball community, and one that
makes this yearly camp suc
cessful — many of the camp
ers he’s known since they
were babies.
“It helps us build the pro
gram, build a relationship
within the community, with
all the kids,” he said. ”We
get to know them so that
when they come out to the
games, they’ll be like, ‘Hey,
I know you.’ It builds a good
community.”
So far, the kids have
responded well to the daily
drills and instruction.
Vining said that everyone
brought great enthusiasm,
along with a willingness to be
coached. He hopes that the
camp will help fuel their love
for the game of basketball
and motivate them to practice
at home.
“That’s the purpose of
camp to motivate young play
ers, continue to work hard,
and continue to work on their
game,” Vining said.
“If we accomplish that,
then we’ve done what we
want to do.”
JOHN RA0UX I The Associated Press
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm throws a
pass during the 2018 game against the Florida Gators in
Jacksonville, Fla.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
With Holloman gone, Bulldogs
depending on unproven WR group
BY BRANDON SUDGE
Macon Telegraph
Each summer, a news item may
float around and raise questions ahead
of Georgia’s upcoming football season.
There wouldn’t be a college football
offseason without one, and curiosity
drawing developments occur within
most programs.
Unfortunately for Georgia, its sig
nificant offseason story has potential to
be roster-shattering. Ahead of the 2019
season in which the Bulldogs are pro
jected title contenders, wide receiver
Jeremiah Holloman was dismissed
from the program on June 21 after an
alleged incident of aggravated assault
and battery.
Holloman entered the summer as the
Bulldogs’ top returning receiver with
418 receiving yards and five touch
downs -- his highlight coming on the big
stage against Florida in Jacksonville.
After spending his freshman season
buried in the depth chart, he emerged
as the team’s alpha receiver and
became a favorable target for quarter
back Jake Fromm with an acrobatic
pass-catching ability.
Next time Georgia wide receivers
coach Cortez Hankton holds a meet
ing in the bowels of Butts-Mehre Heri
tage Hall, the absence of No. 9 may be
palpable. Georgia does have a gaudy
number of five-star prospects and can
flash its recruiting prowess in situations
such as this one.
As a return to the field draws closer,
here are some factors to consider as
Georgia re-shapes its receiver unit.
TIME TO FIGURE IT OUT: Prior
to Holloman’s dismissal, Fromm had
a steep task lying ahead of him with a
wholesale change in pass-catching tar
gets. Those veterans that the Bulldogs’
quarterback came to love -- Mecole
Hardman, Riley Ridley and Isaac
Nauta -- all became NFL draftees and
■ Please see RECEIVERS, 2B