2C Midweek Edition-July 17-18, 2024
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
Former GHS baseball
coach Owings takes job at
N. Greenville University
BY BILL MURPHY
bmurphy@gainesvilletimes.com
Micah Owings has made his next move.
After stepping down recently as the new
head baseball coach at Gainesville High on
June 27, the former Red Elephants standout
was named the new assistant baseball coach
at Division-II North Greenville University.
North Greenville University made the
hire public in a press release on its social
media accounts.
Owings was introduced shortly after the
2023 high school season ended as the direc
tor of baseball operations for Gainesville
High, under head coach Cris Carpenter.
When Carpenter retired after the 2024
season, Owings was selected to fill the posi
tion at the top of the organization.
Owings has succeeded at every level
of the game, having played in the big
leagues from 2007-2013 with the Arizona
Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and San
Diego Padres. After retiring from playing,
Owings managed the successful Gaines
ville GoF Diggers, a summer-league col
lege organization from 2019-2023, which
won back-to-back Sunbelt League titles in
2022 and 2023.
Owings' prep career at Gainesville High
was records setting.
Playing for the Red Elephants, the right-
handed pitcher compiled a 24-2 record on
the mound en route to back-to-back state
championships in 2001-2002.
FROM 1C
Brown
by any stretch, ... (but) when (Gainesville
administrators) called, just talking with
them and discussing things, it sparked an
interest for me and my family.
“We went up there and looked around and
kind of fell in love with Gainesville. Seems
like a great place to live. We've always kind
of wanted to be on the water, so we're hop
ing to try to make that work out. ... So, we
prayed about it as a family and discussed it
and decided it was a good fit for us."
After serving as an assistant to another
Hall of Fame coach, Hugh Buchanan, for
a year when he arrived at Parkview, Brown
assumed the head coaching reins in 2005.
In the two decades since, he took the
Panthers to an even higher level of success,
leading them to six of the program's nine
state championships, the last one in 2019,
and 15 of its 27 region titles, as well as
national championships in 2012 (Baseball
America), 2015 (Baseball America) and
2018 (Baseball America, MaxPreps, USA
Today and Collegiate Baseball Magazine)
over the past 20 seasons.
Along the way, he has coached numer
ous individuals who have gone on to play in
college, 17 of which have been selected in
the Major League Baseball Draft, including
current Atlanta Braves slugging first base-
man Matt Olson.
That first number will grow even further
with at least three graduating seniors from
Parkview's 2024 team that went 29-7 and
reached the Class 7A state quarterfinals -
Brown's son Cade Brown (Georgia), Thorpe
Musci (Georgia Tech), Adrian Jimenez (Vir
ginia Commonwealth) and Ford Thompson
(Mercer) - all signing with Division I col
lege programs.
Brown takes over a Gainesville program
that earned its first state playoff berth since
2018 this past season with a 13-15 record.
And he is eagerly looking forward to
meeting with the Red Elephants and getting
started in keeping the momentum going and
taking the success to a higher level.
“I've heard some good things about a lot
of kids," Brown said. “I've got to get in there
and feel my way through the program for a
bit. Obviously, it's a new challenge for me
to get in there and... see what it takes to get
the Red Elephants going in the right direc
tion and make sure the kids are doing the
right things on and off the field.
“There's a tradition there (at Gainesville),
and I think people want us to tap into that
tradition, and hopefully we can do that. I'm
going to embrace that tradition of Gaines
ville baseball just like I did at Parkview."
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Photos by Bill Murphy The Times
Gainesville High goes through practice Tuesday at Bruce Miller
Field.
Cherokee Bluff goes through football practice
Monday in Flowery Branch.
North Hall goes through practice Tuesday in Gainesville.
West Hall goes through practice Monday in Oakwood.
Flowery Branch goes through practice Monday.
West Hall goes through practice Monday in
Oakwood.
Flowery Branch goes through practice Monday.
Gainesville goes through practice Tuesday at Bruce
Miller Field.
FROM 1C
House
Kristi is now the assistant
principal at South Hall
Middle, while Rodney
teaches at Mount Vernon
Elementary.
Naturally, Charlie said
he's considered a future in
education and coaching,
but is still young enough to
explore different options.
Having two parents as
coaches, however, has pro
vided House with a lot of
valuable insight into lead
ership, being part of a team
and work ethic.
“My mom and dad from
a young age instilled com
petitiveness in me,” House
said. “They taught me how
to go out and try to domi
nate, but don't rub it in
people's face.”
Charlie's other inspira
tion is his twin brother,
Cooper, who was bom with
a congenital heart disease
and had to undergo five
open-heart surgeries as a
child, along with a having
a pacemaker and artifi
cial valve implanted in his
heart.
Still, both brothers bond
over sports, particularly
their love of the NBA,
Charlie said.
And House knows his
brother would be out there
playing sports, too, if he
could.
“It feels good to be out
there representing him,”
Charlie said. “I know how
dominant he would be (as
an athlete) in an alternate
reality. We have a bond that
is closer than that of non
twin siblings. We still have
arguments, but I'm con
nected more to him than
people who have an older
or younger sibling.”
Away from football,
House likes to keep it
simple.
When he's not play
ing football or weightlift
ing, he's either reading
his favorite comic book,
watching something in the
science-fiction or western
genre, or listening to music.
While House would
love the opportunity to
play in college, those
football offers haven't yet
manifested.
So for now, he's going
to enjoy playing his senior
season and let the chips fall
where they may.
This summer, The
Times will take a look at
some of Hall County’s top
rising senior athletes for
the Class of 2025.
To submit a story sug
gestion, email sports @
gainesvilletimes.com.
FROM 1C
Sadler
However, that work, and
learning some fundamentals
at both his football posi
tions also had an impact
with his performance on the
hardwood.
“It was all new at first
because it was my first time
playing football,” Sadler
said. “I just adjusted, and it
helped me a lot in basket
ball. ... It helped me fill out
more.”
As it turns out, last fall
was not only his first season
playing football will also
be his last as he intends to
focus solely on basketball
this year.
However, the work in
the weight room and on
the gridiron Sadler has put
in has increased his muscle
mass to help fill out his
frame to a more robust 185
pounds, thus adding a fur
ther dimension to his game.
And his versatile skills
have made him an excellent
complement for his friend
and teammate Tayden Ware,
which makes that pair a for
midable set of twin towers
for Lions opponents to have
to deal with.
“Justyce is capable of
guarding (all) five positions
(on the floor),” Wood said.
“Sometimes he's a rim pro
tector. Sometimes he's at the
front of our press. So, even
though (Sadler and Ware
are) around the same height,
they play two different
styles. They're both capable
of being (multi-talented).”
Both Sadler and Ware say
that it's more than just their
diverse skills that makes
them work so well together.
“Whenever we're in the
game together, we see some
thing that nobody else sees,”
Ware said. “Our passes that
we make to each other are
better than most because we
can see the floor a little bit
better.”
That all said, Sadler says
that there is more work for
him to do before his senior
season begins in November,
and during it as he hopes to
contribute even more to the
Lions as they try to defend
their state title. He also says
there is another champion
ship that he and his team
mate hope to add to the
school's trophy case.
“Hopefully, we can win
Lanierland,” Sadler said.
This summer, The
Times will take a look at
some of Hall County’s top
rising senior athletes for
the Class of 2025.
To submit a story sug
gestion, email sports @
gainesvilletimes.com.
