Mark Owens leaving after 11 seasons at Weiser
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One of the longest active coaches in the Berks Girls League is stepping down.
Conrad Weiser head coach Mark Owens submitted his resignation to athletic director Christopher Kline late last month after 11 seasons.
“I had a very pleasant 11 years,” said Owens, who played for the Scouts and Penn State-Berks. “It’s not often you get to coach at the school you grew up at. It was a lot of fun and a lot of memories were created each year.”
Owens mentioned wanting to watch his two grandchildren play basketball in the Wilson program and an increase in responsibilities in his full-time job as a realtor as factors in his decision.
“He thought there was a good nucleus of players and always said he would never leave when the cupboard was bare,” said Conrad Weiser athletic director Chris Kline.
Emily McGonigle — the second-leading scorer on the team –is graduating but the Scouts will return five of their top six scorers following third-place finish in Berks III (2-9) and a 6-16 record overall.
Kline said the search for the next head coach will encompass all candidates, including from within and outside the district.
“We are going to consider all applicants,” Kline said. “Being a 5A program and the schedule we play we want to make sure we get the best fit and option moving forward.”
Owens mentioned his junior varsity head coach Jake Templin — the former Wilson basketball point guard, football quarterback, and lacrosse midfielder — as a potential candidate.
“I’m sure it’ll get a lot of applicants,” Owens said. “We have five girls coming back that have started games. The cupboard isn’t empty. We have a good facility. I’m sure they’ll get a good coach.”
Owens went a combined 105-150 after taking over for the 2013-14 season.
Conrad Weiser had one of its most successful seasons ever in Owens’ second season, going 23-9 with a District 3 runner-up finish and a trip to the PIAA semifinals.
“That was a Hoosiers-like run to the state semifinals,” Owens recalled. “We had like two basketball-only players but the rest were all great athletes at other sports. Hannah (Racis) was a Division 1 soccer player and Gwyn (Price) was a Division 1 track athlete. We had some good shooters in Kiersten Ingram and Chelsea Erkes.
“It was a neat team, but most games we were the underdogs, so every time we won it was a huge celebration in the locker room. It was an amazing run.”
Owens is one of three Conrad Weiser girls basketball coaches to win over 100 games, along with Tom Bausher (117) and Ann Schmidt (105).
He was one of five active coaches in the Berks Girls League with over 100 wins, along with Berks Catholic’s Bob Birmingham (649), Gov. Mifflin’s Mike Clark (299), Brandywine Heights’ Jason Bieber (264), and Schuylkill Valley’s Jason Bagenstose (100). He is one of 36 coaches to win over 100 games in Berks Girls League history.
Owens was the third-longest tenured active head coach in the league behind Birmingham (35 seasons, including 22 at Holy Name) and Clark (16 seasons, including four at Oley Valley).
