01 Jan 2023 Youth of the Month: Abe Owen

Posted at 3:26 PMh in Sports by

By Donna Lampkin Stephens

Cabot High School Principal Henry Hawkins calls Abe Owen “a servant-leader,” and the CHS senior tries to live up to that description every day.

Owen, 18, follows the “I Am Third” life philosophy, echoing the title of Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers’ autobiography.

“It was something I learned at church camp, where you put the Lord first and everybody else before me,” Owen said. “It allows me to show who I am as a person and allow those around me to not only be encouraged but also to be uplifted in the things they do.”

Photo by Mike Kemp

While he credits his parents, Clayton and Sarah Owen, for raising him to be the young man he is today, he said he had found within himself the desire to go out and serve others.

“That’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing,” he said. “It’s eye-opening, really, to see how blessed we are and to just be kind to everyone at school.”

A two-sport Panther athlete, he is also involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society, a discipleship group led by CHS athletes and a youth group at Fellowship Bible Church.

As the Panthers’ quarterback, Owen led Cabot to a semifinal showing in the 2022 Class 7A state playoffs, where they fell to Bentonville, 15-13. At third base, he helped the Panthers to a Class 6A state baseball finish last spring.

“I was really proud of the way my (football) team played this year,” Owen said. “We fought our hearts out. Now we’re looking forward to a good baseball season.” He’s considering playing football at Ouachita Baptist next year or baseball at the University of Central Arkansas. His GPA is over 4.0, and wherever he goes, he hopes to study biology with an eye toward pre-medicine.

Hawkins called Owen a campus leader.

“He has a great attitude and is very helpful,” Hawkins said. “Abe makes everyone around him a better person or player. He will outwork everyone. Abe never has a bad day and is a champion for the little guy or the underdog.”

That philosophy comes naturally to Owen. He has an older brother, Sam, 19,; and a younger brother, Zeke, 8. But his sister, Eloise, just 18 months younger than Abe, died at 9 after being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect.

He said his sister’s death profoundly affected him.

“As a kid growing up, she was my best friend,” he said. “As she was in and out of the hospital, it was hard on me, and when she passed away, that really affected me. She was a fighter. Now when I’m on the field, whether it’s baseball or football, and if I feel challenged, I realize I have to fight because my sister fought for her life, so I can fight for this game.”

This is part of the reason he wants to pursue a medical career.

“And I’ve had injuries in the past, so I want to pursue orthopedics to help others get better,” he said. “I just want to help others.”

Donna Stephens
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