From the basketball court to the altar
Former South Salem and OSU hoopster Katie McWilliams got hitched
Decked out in all white, she was absolutely stunning. Her family cheered her on to the next chapter of her life. This past Saturday, local basketball standout Katie McWilliams became Katie Stanley, the blushing bride of her longtime fiancé, Kevin Stanley.
The 26-year old Katie and the 31-year old Kevin were wedded in a ceremony under sunny skies on Knox Butte, located about five miles east of Albany in rural Linn County on July 22nd.
Proud Papa Nick McWilliams provided a pair of photos—including one with he and Katie at the Friday rehearsal of the ceremony. It was a picture he said would have been better with Katie’s mom in the frame, rather than himself.
Katie—a former all-state performer for South Salem—was named to the Oregon State Sports Hall of Fame in June as part of the 2015-16 OSU women’s basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four that season.
Katie is currently an instructional assistant at Silverton High, working with special needs students. She is also an assistant varsity girls basketball coach at the school. Her spouse Kevin teaches health and AVID at South Salem High. He also coaches JV girls basketball for the Saxons.
The happy couple is off for a ten-day honeymoon on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Congratulations to the couple from this writer, who remembers Katie as a pig-tailed grade schooler who won the Keizer Hoop Shoot contest many years ago. Note that this column will never be mistaken for an old-fashioned newspaper society page, but there are exceptions to the sports emphasis that can and will be made.
Congratulations to another great Saxon athlete! Go Saxons! Go Beavers!