FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: WEDNESDAY, AUG 7

FAMILIAR FACE TAKES ON NEW ROLE

Lomega’s new high school principal might be a familiar face to some in Kingfisher County.

At least to those in basketball circles.

Cory Wilson was hired earlier this summer to replace Chad Fox.

This won’t be Wilson’s first stint as an educator in the county. He was Kingfisher High School’s girls basketball coach and middle school history teacher from 2002-04.

“It seems like such a long time ago,” said Wilson, who coached the Lady Jackets to the 2004 Class 4A state tournament. “But we have some really good memories and made some good friends in our time there.”

Now, after spending 17 years as a history teacher and coach, Wilson says he is excited for the new challenge his role in administration will bring.

“There will definitely be a learning curve as I transition from being a teacher to an administrator,” said Wilson. “I look forward to being able to help and guide the teachers, being a part of the students’ lives and being active in the community.”

Wilson began his career in education at Leedey High School in 1999.

In his first year as a basketball coach, he took Leedey to the Class B state championship game, beating Dover in the quarterfinals along the way.

He left Leedey in 2001 after being hired at Kingfisher to succeed Cherie Myers.

“I’ll admit it was especially tough that first year,” Wilson said of following Myers, who won two state titles during her 15-year tenure with KHS.

“I kept asking myself ‘Why did I follow Cherie Myers? Why did I follow Cherie Myers?’ But it got better and we had some good teams,” he recalls.

During his third and final year at Kingfisher, Wilson led the Lady Jackets to the state semifinals.

Following that school year, Wilson left education to work in the insurance field with his wife, Lori.

The Wilsons have three children, Jordan, Avery and Adysen.

Jordan and Avery were toddlers during the Wilsons’ stint in Kingfisher and will be attending Southwestern Oklahoma State this year.

Adysen, who will be a junior at Lomega, was born during their time here.

“When I left teaching, I missed being around my kids during the day,” said Wilson. “I also missed the teachers and interacting with the other students.”

Wilson decided to continue his career in education and returned to Leedey in 2009 and coached basketball and softball while his wife continued to run the insurance business.

While he continued to have success as a basketball coach, his teams really flourished on the softball diamond.

Wilson coached nine softball teams to state tournaments.

His 2011 slow-pitch team at Leedey won a state championship.

Leedey was also the fast-pitch runner-up in 2011 and slow-pitch runner-up in 2012.

Wilson was named the 2011 Slow-Pitch Coach of the Year for Classes A-2A and was the 2014 All-State coach for the Small West.

To cap his career, which included stints in Hammon and Fort Cobb-Broxton, his alma mater, Wilson was inducted into the Oklahoma Slow-Pitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame earlier this summer.

Now, 15 years after leaving Kingfisher County, Wilson and his family have returned.

“We are excited to be back,” he said. “We still know a lot of people and we really like the area and the communities in this county.”