The Bartow History Museum invites everyone to the opening ceremony for Hometown Teams — How Sports Shape America on Saturday, July 29. The event will be at the Bartow History Museum from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4 East Church Street in Cartersville. There will be food, sports activities, giveaways, and door prizes. Admission is free. Bill Curry, retired coach and former NFL player, will be the featured speaker at the opening ceremony. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology (1980–1986), the University of Alabama (1987–1990), and the University of Kentucky (1990–1996). Between coaching jobs at Kentucky and Georgia State, Curry was a football analyst for ESPN. He played football at Georgia Tech (1962–1964) and then played for ten seasons in the National Football League with four different teams: the Green Bay Packers (1965–1966), the Baltimore Colts (1967–1972), the Houston Oilers (1973), and the Los Angeles Rams (1974). Hometown Teams is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Georgia Humanities Council.

Former Cartersville High School baseball stars Connor Justus and Sam Howard continue their progress in the month of July with their respective minor league teams. Justus has hit .325 over his last ten games with the Advanced Class A California League Inland Empire 66ers and Howard has maintained a 3.63 ERA through 17 starts with both the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. CONNOR JUSTUS — Inland Empire 66ers, Los Angeles Angels organization — Advanced Class A, California League — 22, SS, 5th round pick in 2016 — Cartersville HS, Georgia Tech Justus has hit for a .325 average (13-for-40) over his last ten games, including hits in eight of those games and multiple hits in four of his last ten games. He has also driven in six runs, scored seven, and stolen one base during that stretch. The recent surge has Justus hitting .210 for the season with a .332 on-base percentage through 82 games. Defensively, the shortstop has a .955 fielding percentage in 313 total chances and has been part of 44 double plays. Inland Empire (17-13, second half) is two games behind Rancho Cucamonga (L.A. Dodgers affiliate) in the California League’s South Division second half standings. The 66ers are 47-53 overall in 2017. SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes, Colorado Rockies organization — Triple A, Pacific Coast League — 24, LHP, 3rd round pick in 2014 — Cartersville HS, Georgia Southern Howard received no decision last Saturday in a 4-3 loss at Salt Lake. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and four walks in four and two-thirds innings. He left the game in a 3-3 tie, but the Bees took the contest in walk-off fashion with a solo home run in the bottom of the tenth. Howard has a 3.63 ERA in 2017 in 17 starts split between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque. He was a 4-6 record with one complete game and shutout in just over 86 innings. He has struck out 79 and walked only 27. Albuquerque (51-50) is currently in second place in the PCL Pacific Southern Division. The Isotopes are three games behind the Salt Lake Bees, an affiiate of the Los Angeles Angels.

Scott Stallings' charge up the leaderboard last Saturday and eventual tie for third at the Barbasol Championship, along with Aaron Baddeley's tie for 27th at The Open at Royal Birkdale headline this past weekends performances among players affiliated with Cartersville Country Club's Scott Hamilton Golf Academy and/or Athletic Motion Golf. Stallings fired a tournament record-tying 60 on Saturday at the PGA Tour's Auburn/Opelika event to climb into first place with only Sunday's round remaining. He slipped to 71 in the final round, however, to tie for third place two shots behind winner Grayson Murray. Meanwhile, four SHGA/AMG players earned checks this past week on the WEB.com Tour. Kyle Thompson tied for 14th with rounds of 69-69-69-68 at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, NE. Fellow SHGA/AMG players Matt Atkins and Casey Wittenberg tied for 31st and Chris Wilson tied for 54th. PGA TOUR The Open Championship July 20-23 — Southport, ENG Winner: Jordan Spieth (12-under-par; 65-69-65-69) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T27 — Aaron Baddeley (1-over; 69-76-72-64) MC — Charles Howell III (9-over; 74-75) Aaron Baddeley Barbasol Championship July 20-23 — Auburn/Opelika, AL Winner: Grayson Murray (21-under; 67-64-64-68) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T3 — Scott Stallings (19-under; 69-65-60-71) T52 — Boo Weekley (9-under; 69-67-70-69) T61 — Matt Every (7-under; 71-67-71-68) MDF — Bobby Wyatt (1-under; 74-65-73) MC — Brendon Todd (Even; 70-72) MC — Jason Bohn (2-over; 74-70) MC — Steven Bowditch (10-over; 74-78) Next Event: RBC Canadian Open — July 27-30 — Glen Abbey GC — Ontario, CAN Scott Stallings PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR The PGA TOUR Champions did not have an event this past week. Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf player Joe Durant has played in 14 events and is currently 12th on the Charles Schwab Cup standings money list led by Bernhard Langer. Next Event: The Senior Open Championship — Royal Porthcawl GC — Bridgend, WAL Joe Durant WEB.COM TOUR Pinnacle Bank Championship July 20-23 — Omaha, NE Winner: Sam Ryder (21-under; 67-67-62-67) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T14 — Kyle Thompson (9-under; 69-69-69-68) T31 — Matt Atkins (6-under; 72-69-71-66) T31 — Casey Wittenberg (6-under; 67-71-68-72) T54 — Chris Wilson (4-under; 70-70-72-68) Next Event: Digital Ally Open — July 27-30 — Nicklaus GC at LionsGate — Overland Park, KS Kyle Thompson LPGA TOUR Marathon Classic July 20-23 — Sylvania, OH Winner: In-Kyung Kim (21-under; 65-67-68-63) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf player Brooke Pancake did not play. She is currently 124th in the Race to CME Globe standings for 2017. Next LPGA event: Ladies Scottish Open — July 27-30 — North Ayrshire, Scotland Each week, Bartow Sports Zone tracks the professional golfers on tour affiliated with Cartersville Country Club's Scott Hamilton Golf Academy (ScottHamiltonGolf.com) and teaching professional Mike Granato (MikeGranatoGolf.com). Both Hamilton and Granato are affiliated professionals with Athletic Motion Golf. (https://athleticmotiongolf.com) Scott Hamilton is the long time Director of Golf at Cartersville Country Club and is teacher/advisor/instructor to many prominent golf professionals competing on the PGA Tour, PGA Champions Tour, WEB.com Tour, LPGA Tour, and more. Mike Granato is a local golf instructor who also works with many of Hamilton's clients. Scott Hamilton and Mike Granato

The Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) all-star team fell to Hart County 7-5 Sunday afternoon at Clarke Central High School in a second round game at the double-elimination Georgia Junior Little League State Tournament. Bartow won its opener in the state tournament Saturday over Elbert County, 4-3. On Sunday, Hart County scored single runs in the first, second, fourth, and fifth innings, but did the most damage with three runs in the third frame. Hart County pounded out ten hits in the contest. Bartow scored all five of its runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of four walks, a hit batsman, an error, and a base hit by Patrick Shelley. Nick Bailey and Jordan Gainey had the only other Bartow base hits in the first and second innings, respectively. Trevor Collum did not have a hit, but did reach base in all three plate appearances. Jordan Gani (3 IP, 4H, 5R) started on the mound for Bartow and was tagged with the loss. Bailey (3 IP, 4H 2R) worked the final three innings on the mound for the locals. Bartow, now 1-1 in the tournament, will play an elimination game scheduled for Monday night against the East Marietta/Athens winner. Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, Bartow County Recreation Department, and Cartersville Recreation Department softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. The updates are presented on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville — 410 Cherokee Place.

The Cass High School football team won three of its first four games in 2016 with a narrow home loss to Sonoraville surrounded by wins over Adairsville, Woodland, and Hiram. The Colonels then lost six consecutive region games to close the season with a 3-7 overall record and were 2-6 in the powerful Region 7-AAAAA. “We play in a monster region,” Cass head coach Bobby Hughes stated. “We don’t have a lot of room for error in our region schedule. With that said, we lost three games last year in the final two minutes, so our focus this off-season has been to finish games and be even better prepared than ever — physically and mentally.” Region 7-AAAAA was arguably one of the state’s best leagues in any classification last year. Rome won the Class 5A state championship, Carrollton was in the state semifinals, and Kell reached the state quarterfinals. “I expect the pre-season polls to have three teams from our league in the top ten,” said Hughes. “Rome, Kell, and Carrollton could be ranked in the top five and then there are five or six more really good teams in our region.” Hughes points to defending champ Rome as the team to beat in the league. “Rome is loaded with talent,” he noted. “Their defense is exceptional. At last count they have seven or eight players on the defensive side of the ball with college scholarship offers already.” In order to compete at such a high level, Hughes says the Cass program has amped up their off-season work even more. “Our off-season work has been better than it has ever been. Our guys understand we have to do everything we can to get bigger in the weight room, faster, stronger, and bring our best effort. We talk about controlling the things we can control. We can’t control what the opponent does or what an official calls or doesn’t call. We can’t control the weather. We simply have to take control of ourselves and make that work to our advantage.” As a result of their off-season and summer work, Hughes says his troops are excited about their accomplishments, progress, and for the season to come. “I think we’ve been able to create more depth this off-season,” Hughes reflected. “We saw steady growth physically in the weight room and on the practice field. Our camps this summer — both in pads and with the 7-on-7s — helped with the depth development and it will help that we are returning a lot of experience on defense.” The Colonels’ defense will be led by linebacker Tripp Breeden (5-11, 205, Sr.). Breeden, who recently broke the school’s all-time bench record at 385 pounds, is a state champion wrestler and will be the team’s defensive signal caller. He will be flanked by linebackers Reed Davis (Soph.) and Beau Smith (5-9, 180, Jr.). Up front the Cass defense will feature defensive ends Rodney Richards (5-9, 210, Jr.) and Tyreese Dawson (5-8, 175, Sr.), along with senior defensive lineman Zach Hall (6-1, 270). Hughes referred to Richards as ‘a real difference-maker’ on defense. It is the Colonels’ defensive secondary that returns the most experience and plenty of athleticism. Macland Shay (5-10, 170, Jr.) and Demarco Moore (5-9, 170, Sr.) will hold down the corners for Cass. Cameron Gonyea (6-2, 192, Sr.) and Evan Hinton (6-3, 190, Sr.) will handle the safety positions. “We are bigger and longer than we’ve ever been in the secondary,” noted Hughes. “That’s a good group, we just need to continue working to develop some depth back there.” On the other side of the ball, Hughes’ squad is looking to develop more cohesiveness with his offensive line. “The O-line is basically new with Seven Richards (6-0, 260, Sr.) returning to anchor that group,” said the Cass head coach. “Johnny Bootz (6-2, 250, Soph.), Brandan Rampey (6-0, 240, Sr.), and Dalton Southern (Jr.) have improved in the off-season and will have to be leaders up there.” The Cass offensive front will try to clear the path for an experienced collection of skill-position players. Thomas Gilliam (5-9, 190, Jr.) and Ahijah Blackwell (5-8, 155, Soph) return at running back and Hughes will utilize Malik Grimes (5-6, 150, Jr.) along with Gonyea and Demarco Moore in the slot. “Demarco (Moore) and Cameron (Gonyea) are a couple of guys we will find ways to get on both sides of the ball,” Hughes added. Hughes also expects to utilize a pair of quarterback to begin the year. “Rett Moore (5-10, 170, Jr.) and Logan Nelson (5-11, 155, Soph) will both see time at quarterback,” said Hughes. “We want to see both of them in game situations.” The Colonels’ kicking game returns placekicker and star soccer player Anthony Robledo (5-5, 140). The senior is expected to also compete with others this Fall for time as the team’s punter. Cass will host Pepperell on Friday, August 18 at 7:30pm in both teams’ official GHSA pre-season scrimmage. The Colonels will then host Adairsville for their regular season opener August 25 and travel to Sonoraville September 1 to wrap up the non-league games prior to playing their grueling eight-game region slate. 2017 CASS COLONELS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Aug. 25 — ADAIRSVILLE Sept. 1 — at Sonoraville Sept. 8 — WOODLAND Sept. 15 — at Hiram Sept. 22 — at Kell Sept. 29 — open date Oct. 6 — EAST PAULDING Oct. 13 — at Rome Oct. 20 — at Paulding County Oct. 27 — VILLA RICA Nov. 3 — CARROLLTON

The Cartersville Little League (12U) all-star team defeated Dudley Little League Saturday 7-2 to win a first round game at the Georgia Little League Baseball State Tournament at Peachtree City Little League. With the victory, Cartersville advances to a second round game Monday night at 8pm against District 10 champ, Athens Little League. After Dudley Little League took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Cartersville responded with a strong offensive start that included a first inning home run by Chris Roper and scored all seven of their runs in the first three frames. The Cartersville pitching duo of Tyler Shelton and Trip Bradley limited Dudley to only three total hits. Shelton worked the first four innings on the mound. He allowed one run on a hit and three walks. He fanned six. Bradley closed out the final two frames, allowing only a sixth inning home run and one other hit. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Jakiyon Porter was 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, and scored a run to help lead the Cartersville attack. Chris Roper had a hit, three RBIs, and scored a run. Paul Gamble and Shelton had the other Cartersville hits. Drake Carver drove in a run and was on base twice with walks. In other games at the state tournament Saturday, Northern defeated Midway 14-0, Athens defeated Elbert County 6-1, and Peachtree City National defeated Toccoa 13-3. Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, Bartow County Recreation Department, and Cartersville Recreation Department softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. The updates are presented on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville — 410 Cherokee Place.

The Bartow County Junior Little League all-star team (14U) won its opening game at the Georgia Junior Little League State Tournament Saturday at Clarke Central High School in Athens, GA. Bartow, who trailed 3-2 heading into its final offensive frame, defeated Elbert County 4-3 in come-from-behind fashion. Elbert County scored single runs in the first, fourth, and sixth innings to lead 3-2. Bartow County scored single runs in the third and fifth innings before scoring the two game-winning runs in the bottom of the seventh. Patrick Shelley drove in T.J. Grimes for Bartow’s tying run in the seventh inning. Grimes later scored the game-winning run on a passed ball. Jayden Smith picked up the pitching win for Bartow in relief of starting pitcher Trevor Collum. Smith yielded a pair of runs on five hits over the final five innings. He fanned five. Collum worked the first two innings and allowed one run on a pair of hits and two walks. He struck out two. Grimes and Shelley each had a pair of hits to lead the Bartow attack. Nick Bailey added an RBI double in the third. Jimbo Gaines, Alex Freeman, Colin Eaton, and Jordan Jonathan all contributed one hit apiece. Bartow advances to the second round Sunday to play Hart County Junior Little League at 1pm again at Clarke Central High School. Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, Bartow County Recreation Department, and Cartersville Recreation Department softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. The updates are presented on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville — 410 Cherokee Place.

The Cartersville High School Purple Hurricanes football team has won back-to-back Class 4A state championships and expectations continue to run high for head coach Joey King and his squad. The Canes will hit the field at Westminster High School in Atlanta on Friday, August 11 at 7:30pm for their official GHSA pre-season scrimmage, but a full spring and summer of high-energy, high-intensity work has the Cartersville coach excited. “Our kids have been working really hard,” King told Kevin Pate and Alan Sanders of WBHF this week. “We’ve actually taken the last couple of weeks off to let our kids be kids and coaches relax for a few days and squeeze in some vacation time, but we are ready to start this year’s grind.” Cartersville returns 34 seniors on this season’s roster and with consecutive state titles and a Final Four appearance in 2014, it is a group of players accustomed to success. “We have a great group of kids, a phenomenal administration, and I believe we have the best coaching staff in Georgia,” King stated. “Our goal is always to win a state championship and these kids work hard toward that goal each and every day.” King was asked if there is ever any concern about complacency following the state titles. “Competition breeds success,” King responded. “We push each other every day in the weight room and compete on the practice field. I was impressed by the competitive nature of Cartersville kids when I arrived here and we’ve just tried to channel that energy in the right direction as coaches.” Cartersville will again compete in Region 5-AAAA with the top four teams in that league advancing to the GHSA Class AAAA state playoffs in November. Cedartown, Central-Carrollton, LaGrange, Chapel Hill, Sandy Creek, and Troup County join the Hurricanes in the seven-team region. While Region 5-AAAA will include the same schools as last season, there have been some changes with coaching leadership at a few of those schools according to coach King. “Central-Carrollton, Cedartown, and Sandy Creek have new coaching staffs, so we will be anxious to see how they stack up as the season begins. We know from what we saw last year and their returning players that Sandy Creek and Troup will have really talented squads." Cartersville has a bevy of incredibly talented players returning as well, including the top recruit in the nation in senior quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The 6-5, 205-pound signal caller has committed to Clemson and has received national attention since hitting the field for the Canes as a freshman. When asked about new contributors for this year’s team, King pointed to the quality off-season work by several players. Rico Frye is a 5-10, 200-pound senior running back transfer from Creekside High School. He has rushed for 4886 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career and reportedly has offers from UT-Chattanooga, Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, Samford, Central Michigan, Gardner Webb, Mercer, Fresno State and Jacksonville State. Frye has been timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.56. Junior running back Marcus Gary (5-8, 160) was the Canes’ top rusher in their spring competition and also drew high praise from his head coach for his continued improvement. Marquall Coaxum (5-9, 140) and Marko Dudley (5-11, 160) are two sophomores that will have an opportunity to start for the Hurricanes in the secondary, while Carson Murray (6-1, 195) will be a threat off the edge with fellow linebackers Dylan Henderson (5-10, 195) and Grant Harris (6-3, 215) moving into the Cartersville defensive personnel forefront. The Canes also return middle linebacker Nyvin Nelson and Darian Poellnitz up front. Both held important defensive roles last season. The Purple Hurricanes also return talented receivers E.J. Turner, T.J. Horton, JKobe Orr, Kaleb Chatmon, Jackson Lowe and more. Turner (6-0, 175, Sr. - left photo) has received high profile offers from Kansas State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, and Buffalo among others. Horton and Orr were mainstays on the Canes’ basketball team this past season with tremendous athleticism and Lowe (6-4, 210, Jr.) is rated by some recruiting services as a Power 5 player from the Cartersville program. Other returnees expected to impact the 2017 season for Cartersville include Jacorey Johns (6-4, 220, Sr., LB); Tee Webb (6-4, 180, So., QB); Nick Root (6-1, 265, Sr., OL); Bryce Wilkins (5-9, 235, Sr., OL/DL); Demetrious Winters (6-1, 270, Sr., OL); and kicker/punter Jonathan Cruz. L-R Top: Nelson, Root, Johns L-R Middle: Horton, Wilkins, Cruz L-R Bottom: Webb, Winters, Lowe Johns has collegiate offers from Purdue, Colorado State, Appalachian State, and Southern Miss among others. Webb — who received his first D-I offer while still in middle school — will continue as the Canes’ JV quarterback, but is expected to receive more meaningful varsity reps according to King. Root, Wilkins, and Winters were all-county pillars for the Canes in 2016 and Cruz returns for his senior season after already receiving D-I offers. Coach King pointed to Cartersville’s playoff success as a key tool in developing players. “We’ve extended the season deep into the playoffs the past few years and that has been valuable in our player development,” noted the Canes’ head coach. “Our younger guys have received five more weeks of practices each of the past two years and we’ve been fortunate to get a lot of them into games. That’s ten playoff games in just the last two years, so that’s an entire season of extra games and practices.” The Cartersville program was also recently featured in a commercial for Adidas that was seen during the ESPN Espy Awards. “We were one of about five elite Adidas schools included in the commercial,” King explained. “That was pretty sweet for the Cartersville name and colors to be on national television.” The Canes will face another challenging non-region schedule of games. Cartersville opens the regular season August 18 at Allatoona, will host Calhoun September 1, and will travel to Westlake on September 8. The Hurricanes will also host a nationally televised doubleheader at Weinman Stadium on Saturday, August 26. Saraland (Ala.) will play Heard County (Ga.) at 3:30pm on ESPNU and Cartersville will entertain Bartram Trail (Fla.) that same evening at 7:30pm. The doubleheader is part of the 2017 GEICO High School Football Kickoff and is billed as a quarterback showcase with Jack West of Saraland, Ohio State commit Emory Jones for Heard County, Auburn commit Joey Gatewood for Bartram Trail and Cartersville’s Lawrence. “We’re really excited for the 2017 season. We have a great opportunity to play on a national level with the ESPN game, but the front of our schedule is going to be challenging for sure,” continued King. “I try to not get too carried away,” King added, “but sometimes you have to take a step back and simply appreciate what a great place this is and what a great opportunity this is for our kids.” 2017 CARTERSVILLE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Aug. 18 -- at Allatoona Aug. 26 -- Bartram Trail (St. Johns, FL) Sept. 1 -- Calhoun Sept. 8 -- at Westlake Sept. 15 — open Sept. 22 -- Cedartown Sept. 29 -- at Central Oct. 6 -- at LaGrange Oct. 13 -- Sandy Creek Oct. 20 -- Chapel Hill Oct. 27 — open Nov. 3 -- at Troup County

Cartersville High School cross country and track and field coach David Matherne won the 50-and-over mile competition in the Outdoor Masters at the USA Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana last weekend. Matherne, 52, won for the second time in his age division with a time of 4:28.2. His first title came in 2014. The former Berry College runner was representing the Atlanta Track Club. Louisiana State University's Bernie Moore Track Stadium hosted the 2017 Outdoor Masters July 13-16.

With the summer camp circuit now completed along with The Opening Finals in Oregon, Scout.com has updated its 2018 Scout 300. Although Harrison High School (Kennesaw, GA) dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields received a lot of attention this summer, The Scout 300 kept Cartersville High School pro-style quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the No. 1 spot for the Class of 2018. John Garcia, Southeast recruiting analyst for Scout Recruiting, told Brandon Huffman of Scout.com, "Lawrence still retains his post atop the rankings, ever so slightly, because of his on-field dominance when it counts most -- in pads.” 247Sports.com recently slipped Fields by Lawrence as No. 1 in the Class of 2018 in its player rankings, although Lawrence has been the top player in that ranking since his sophomore season. "Each had great junior seasons, and Lawrence still flashed his big arm this offseason, but those in the Peach State haven't quite seen the prowess and consistency Lawrence has displayed over a longer period of time versus Fields' rapid rise. Fields is a physical specimen as to where Lawrence, who moves very well inside the pocket and out, continues to add to his 6-foot-6 frame,” added Garcia. For both highly touted players, the regular season is just around the corner and the debate will continue. Cartersville and Lawrence -- back-to-back Class AAAA state champs in Georgia -- open the 2017 season August 18 at Class AAAAAA Allatoona and will host Bartram Trail (FL) August 26 on ESPN2. The Harrison Hoyas and Fields host East Paulding August 18 before traveling to Class AAAAA defending state champion Rome on August 25. Lawrence is committed to Clemson University. Fields is currently uncommitted after re-opening his recruitment this past Spring. Fields had originally committed to Penn State. For more on this story, please see Brandon Huffman’s article for scout.com — http://www.scout.com/college/football/recruiting/story/1791753-summer-class-2018-scout-300

From Coastal Carolina University's website: CONWAY, SC - Jim Garren, who helped Oklahoma to three straight NCAA Championship appearances and the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf title, was named head men's golf coach at Coastal Carolina University, Chanticleer Director of Athletics Matt Hogue announced today. Garren spent the past three seasons as the assistant coach for the Oklahoma Sooners men's golf program and brings a total of nine years of collegiate coaching experience to Coastal Carolina. "It is truly an honor to join the Coastal Carolina golf family," Garren said. "I use the word family because that is how I want our program viewed as we are all a big family trying to accomplish our goals. I would like to thank Matt Hogue and (CCU president) Dr. David DeCenzo for this opportunity and I thank (CCU assistant athletics director) Bryan Stiles and the entire search committee for their belief in me to run this program. The people involved within the program, the athletic department, the women's team coaching staff and local golf community, is what made me realize this is the place where I want to be. If you have the support, along with the people and personal relationships, then you're going to have a successful program. I can't wait to get started. We are going to work hard, fear no one and build this back into the type of program it should be, a championship caliber program." In his first season at OU, Garren helped lead the Sooners to a 20-stroke victory at the NCAA San Diego Regional and the team went on to place 28th at the NCAA Championship. Garren then helped the Sooners take a step forward the following year (2016) as Oklahoma advanced to the match play round at the NCAA finals for the first time in program history and reached the quarterfinals. The Sooners not only made it back to match play in 2017 but advanced to become national champions with a 3-1-1 victory over Oregon in the final match. "We are excited to welcome Coach Garren into the Chanticleer family," Hogue said. "Our expectations are to return our men's golf program to the prominence and tradition we have enjoyed in the past. Jim is well-suited and prepared to take us in that direction." Garren also helped several Sooners earn postseason honors. In his first season, a pair of Sooners (Michael Gellerman and Grant Hirschman) received All-America recognition, being named third team and honorable mention, respectively. The following year, Max McGreevy was tabbed third team All-America. In his final season at OU, four Sooners -- McGreevy, Hirschman, Brad Dalke and Blaine Hale -- earned honorable mention All-America accolades. Garren came to OU after a one-year stint as the assistant coach at the University of New Mexico. In that one year, Garren helped New Mexico to four tournament wins, including a Mountain West championship and an NCAA Regional appearance. New Mexico's Gavin Green was named a second team All-American while being the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and individual champion. Prior to his time at New Mexico, Garren spent five seasons as assistant men's golf coach and director of recruiting at Southern Mississippi. Over his tenure, the Golden Eagles established five team records and produced four Academic All-America Scholars after having just two prior to Garren's arrival. The program also shaped two Academic All-Conference selections, one first-team All-Conference USA selection (Paul Apyan in 2010) and one second-team All-CUSA selection in Derek Plucienksi (2011). Garren began his collegiate golfing career as a member of the Wallace State Junior College team in 2003. While at Wallace State, he helped lead the team to a No. 3 ranking in NJCAA Division I. Garren then transferred to Kennesaw State, where he earned his degree in sports management in 2008. The Cartersville, Ga., native was a three-time Georgia High School State Champion at Cartersville High School. He was a two-time qualifier for the Atlanta Open and also earned alternate status through qualifying for the 2005 U.S. Open. The Garren File Hometown: Cartersville, Ga. College: Kennesaw State, 2008 Coaching History 2008-13 - Southern Mississippi assistant coach • 2010 NCAA Regional berth • 2011 Individual reached NCAA Championship 2013-14 - New Mexico assistant coach • 2014 NCAA Regional berth 2014-17 - Oklahoma assistant coach • 2015 NCAA Championship (28th) -- NCAA Regional Champion • 2016 NCAA Championship (match play quarterfinals) • 2017 NCAA Champion 2017-pres. -- Coastal Carolina head coach

LakePoint Station, St. Angelo’s Pizza at LakePoint, and Yogli-Mogli Frozen Yogurt at LakePoint Station are hosting a fun event on Thursday, July 27 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm designed to create some friendly competition among the five Cartersville and Bartow County high schools and kickoff the 2017-18 school sports seasons. Dubbed the KICKOFF CHALLENGE, the event will be short competitions between the five local schools — Adairsville High School, Cartersville High School, Cass High School, Excel Christian Academy, and Woodland High School. Teams of six students (three female, three male per event) from each school will participate in four student challenge activities plus there will be an additional contest for adult representatives from each school. The challenge events include: (1) a pizza building contest; (2) a “clip-and-climb” wall challenge; (3) a laser shooting challenge; (4) an alternate-shot miniature golf challenge; (5) and a frozen yogurt tasting challenge for adult representatives from each school (coaches, administrators, etc.) In the pizza building contest, each school will be given identical St. Angelo’s Pizza ingredients. Team members will shape and design a pizza that best represents their school’s mascot or logo. The St. Angelo’s Pizza staff will cook and judge the five pizzas for originality, shape, design, and creativity. The “Clip-and-Climb” wall challenge, the laser shooting challenge, and the miniature golf contest will feature the “Big Three” activities at LakePoint Station and the final event of the evening will feature adult representatives from each school trying to best identify samples of Yogli-Mogli Frozen Yogurt. The first place school in each event will receive 10 points toward the overall KICKOFF CHALLENGE trophy. Second place in each event will recieve 7 points with 4 points going to the third place team and 2 points to the fourth place team in each event. The school with the most points at the end of the night will take home the KICKOFF CHALLENGE trophy for the 2017-2018 school year. WBHF Radio (100.3fm / am1450, Cartersville) and the Bartow Sports Zone team will be broadcasting live from the event and will be interviewing coaches, directors, and administrators from each of the schools. The three event sponsors will also offer food and game specials for spectators so they can try out the food, frozen yogurt, and the action in between each of the school challenge events. Come enjoy a special evening of family fun and cheer on your favorite athletes, schools, coaches, and administrators at the 2017 KICKOFF CHALLENGE presented by LakePoint Station, St. Angelo’s Pizza at LakePoint, and Yogli-Mogli Frozen Yogurt.