Spotlight
From Teammates to Eternal Companions
Playing a sport builds strong relationships between teammates, coaches, and trainers. But can it also lead to love?
For volleyball players Curtis and Jessica Stone and cross country runners Kamryn and Quin Meyer, competing at Southern Virginia University was where they found their forever teammate.
Curtis (‘25) and Jessica Stone (‘25)
Curtis Stone had been on Southern Virginia University’s campus for less than a week when his friends on the women’s volleyball team introduced him to Jessica Ensley.
“We’re both on the volleyball teams here, and some of my teammates had known him when he came his freshman year,” Jessica explained. “When he came back from his mission, they just kind of set us up.”
After completing his missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Reno, Nevada, Curtis returned to Southern Virginia University to play volleyball and study biology and athletic training. His sport not only introduced him to Jessica, a psychology major with a double minor in biology and athletic training, but it was a driving force in their relationship.
“I started an internship with the athletic training program, and I got put with Forrest, who’s the athletic trainer for the women’s volleyball team,” Curtis said. “I ended up going to all their practices, all their games, everything, and that’s how Jessica and I started talking more.”
One of the couple’s best memories from dating was going to a movie night of “How to Train Your Dragon,” one of Curtis’s favorite movies, hosted by the Institute Council at Hull’s Drive-In Theater.
“I knew I loved Curtis and wanted to marry him because of how compatible we were with each other,” Jessica explained. “He fit in so well with my family and there were too many signs telling me that I would never find a better person than him!”
After finishing their sophomore year, Curtis proposed to Jessica during a summer trip to her favorite place—the beach— and they were married on December 16, 2023 in the Gilbert Arizona Temple.
“The qualities that attracted me to Jessica while we were dating was the ability we had to just sit and talk to each other for long periods of time,” Curtis said. “Also how genuinely nice she was to everybody around us.”
Coming full circle, Jessica now works as the athletic training intern for the men’s volleyball team, supporting Curtis and his teammates during her off season.
Quin (‘23) and Kamryn Meyer (‘25)
Kamryn Bradshaw’s love of running led her to her teammate and future husband, Quin Meyer, through the university’s cross country team.
“A lot of the team would come to the dining hall and have breakfast together and that’s how we became friends in the first place,” Kamryn said.
During one morning breakfast together, Kamryn and Quin decided to go on a date to that evening’s Ritz-themed formal dance hosted by the university. They both remember the decision to attend as spontaneous but important in moving their relationship along.
One of their favorite memories of dating was taking Quin’s surfboard to sled down Main Hall hill when a large snow storm came through Buena Vista in the spring of 2022.
“I had a crush on him pretty much as soon as we met,” Kamryn explained. “But I didn’t really want to date seriously at the time because I was planning to serve a mission. Then he kept taking me on dates and we kept hanging out, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“When we began dating, one of the first things I realized is how joyful she was, and she looked that way all of the time,” Quin explained. “She seemed so grateful for her life and looked forward to the adventures she might encounter each day. I felt comfortable, happy, and optimistic whenever I was with her.”
Knowing they were going to get married but wanting to keep Kamryn on her toes, Quin surprised her by proposing during finals week in May 2022.
”We’d been studying for most of the early afternoon and then around the early evening I asked if she wanted to take a study break,” Quin explained. “I drove her to the middle parking lot of Chessie Trail where the new bridge was made. We walked to the middle of the bridge and that’s where I did it.”
Kamryn said yes, and they had a civil ceremony on August 5, 2022 in the backyard of her parents home before being sealed in the Pocatello Idaho Temple the next day.
”Since being married I am finding new things everyday that amaze me about Quin,” Kamryn said. “One thing I admire is how hardworking he is in striving for his goals, and even if the outcome isn’t what he expects, he is patient and diligent. I can’t believe I found him, nor that I get to be his wife.”
Quin recently graduated from Southern Virginia University with a degree in business management and a concentration in sports management. He currently works in game operations and as an athletic commentator for the university while Kamryn completes her degree in music with a piano concentration.