Walk The Talk: Allow me to introduce myself

Oct. 5—Hey there! I'm Jon Walker, the newest sports reporter at the Stillwater News Press, and it's such a pleasure to join a community that shares the same passion I have for sports.

As a Baltimore native, I was practically born into a family hellbent on watching every single Ravens game. In Maryland, or perhaps just my family, there weren't many traditions you could count on as much as eating crabs while watching Kyle Boller and Ray Lewis on a Sunday afternoon.

When I was about 10, my mom moved us from the East Coast to St. Joseph, Missouri, where I grew up and stayed close to a nearby college. Yes, if you're wondering, that's the city home of Kansas City Chiefs training camp — and the laughable East Hills Mall commercial that made its way onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show at one point.

Despite recently moving from the Show Me State to the Sooner State, it's been apparent through my short time here that, whether it be the Cowboys or Pioneers, the people of Stillwater care a great deal about their athletics and the athletes that make them up.

So, I aim to keep you informed — and entertained — with the most compelling stories I have to offer.

Before graduating from Northwest Missouri State University in May, I spent the entirety of my four years covering some of the best athletic programs that Division II had to offer. There were some really talented high school programs in the area, too.

I was blessed enough during my time at Northwest to cover the men's basketball program rewriting the NCAA's history books with an unprecedented three-straight national titles. And, for the record, it would've likely been four in a row if not for COVID-19.

The football team was a perennial powerhouse as well, with four national titles and the winningest record in the country since the turn of the century, and the volleyball program surged to program-best rankings in national polls.

I covered a mysterious medical diagnosis changing a player's life, a hurricane flipping a running back's family upside down from halfway across the country and stars being born, with athletes going from the small town of Maryville, Missouri, to the NFL and NBA.

It was there, in that town of 12,000 people, I learned readers don't just want to know what the final score of last night's game was. So, instead, my goal is to tell the stories people don't see, stories that would never come to light otherwise.

I've been able to tell those compelling stories through building meaningful relationships with administrators, coaches and athletes, and I don't intend on that changing any time soon. Not ever, really.

Throughout my time in Maryville, I doubled as a sports reporter at the St. Joseph News-Press, where I continued to cover Northwest, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and preps in the greater Kansas City area.

While preparing for life post-graduation, I knew I wanted my next home to be a place where the people reading my stories have as much fun as I do writing them.

I have no doubt I've found that very place here in Stillwater.

Living a hop, skip and jump away from the University of Kansas, I've had the opportunity to watch Oklahoma State from afar. So I know all about the university's greats, spanning from Tony Allen to Dez Bryant to John Smith to, of course, Mike Gundy. This list is endless, and that's one of the more intriguing things about this opportunity: You never know who's next.

There's constant history being made throughout the city of Stillwater between Oklahoma State and Stillwater High — like Jackson Holliday being drafted No. 1 overall by my hometown Orioles in this year's MLB Draft — and I can't wait to serve as a de facto historian during my time here.

Back at Northwest, a late football coach's words continue to ring throughout the town when he reminded everyone that, no matter where you are, "The big time is where you're at."

Whether it be a Stillwater High softball game, OSU football in a Big 12 showdown or anything in between, Stillwater is now my big time, and I couldn't be any happier to get to work.

Jon Walker is a sports reporter for The Stillwater News Press. He can be reached at jwalker@stwnewspress.com.