Class of 2023 set to be inducted Saturday

Five former local greats will be inducted into the RomeFloyd Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of the class of 2023 during the annual banquet at Berry College’s Krannert Center.

The group of inductees in this year’s class includes Michelle Abernathy, Harper Brown, Alex Coville, Sidney Ford and Chad Warner.

Abernathy was a star distance runner at both Model High School and Berry College, winning state titles, setting school records, earning multiple All-America nods and even winning a national championship.

Brown starred for West Rome High School in football and track in the 1970s, earning all-state honors three times as a tailback and punter for the Chieftains. He also ranks as one of the best punters to ever play at Georgia Tech.

Coville set the swimming pool ablaze with his fast times for both Rome High School and

Stanford. Coville won state titles, earned several All-America nods, set records, won a national title and finished among the nation’s best when competing at the Olympic trials.

Ford still ranks among the best tailbacks in Georgia as the multi-sport star shined on the gridiron for Pepperell, earning all-state honors and setting records. He also played at Georgia Tech.

Warner has coached basketball at multiple levels and won at all of them. Warner spent time as an assistant at Darlington before coaching the Shorter University men to the NAIA semifinals. He has coached at other colleges, winning at all of them and is currently an assistant at Furman.

Also at Saturday’s banquet, which begins at 5:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony and the Hall of Fame induction starting at 6 p.m., 14 area studentathletes will be recognized as recipients of the Rome Orthopaedic Center Outstanding Student Athlete Scholarships.