Not only did Mike Minton earn the distinction of becoming Salem Community High School’s first state champion, team or individual, he went on to win four Class AA state titles and six state medals overall in track and field by the time he graduated in 1999.

Minton claimed his first two state medals as a sophomore in 1997 when he finished third in the discus throw with a toss of 171-8 and fifth in the shot put at 56-7 1/2. Those medals were the first by a Salem Community High School boy at the state track meet since Louis “Tuffy’ Middleton’ took fourth in the mile back in 1927.

As a junior in 1998, Minton not only became a two-event state champion but also set a state meet record in the discus with his winning throw of 192-1. That came after he won the shot put with a throw of 60-8 1/2.

Minton successfully defended both of his state championships as a senior in 1999 when he again won the shot put with a throw of 60-5 3/4 and the discus at 187-7.

Prior to winning those six state medals Minton won six Class AA sectional championships with throws of 56-10 in the shot put and 169-8 in the discus in 1997, 59-3 in the shot put and 190-7 in the discus in 1998 and 58-5 in the shot put and 182-9 in the discus in 1999.

Minton’s state meet record of 192-1 still stands as the SCHS record at the time of his induction as does his shot put throw of 62-2 1/2 set during the 1999 season when he finished 2nd at the Golden West Inivitational in Sacremento, CA. Minton is also part of the school high hurdle shuttle relay record along with Ryan Petrea, Joey McDonald and Bryan Carter with a time of 1:02.6 set in 1997, the shot put relay record of 148-4 1/2 set in 1996 along with Bobby Carter and Bobby Donoho and the discus relay record of 457-7 1/2 set in 1998 with Billy Tate and Clint Wolfe.

Minton was a four-time North Egypt Conference champion in the shot put and three-time champ in the discus. Minton broke the NEC record in both events as a sophomore in 1997 with throws of 58-2 in the shot put and 175-5 in the discus. Minton broke the NEC shot put record again as a junior in 1998 with a throw of 60-0.

Minton was also a standout performer on the football field where he was an All-North Egypt Conference performer on both offense at running back and on defense at linebacker leading the Wildcats to three playoff berths and the 1997 NEC championship.

Minton was an NEC Second team choice on offense in 1996 when he rushed for 640 yards and eight touchdowns. A year later Minton was an NEC First Team choice on defense and shared the team lead in rushing with Tyson Bargh with 571 yards. Minton was an NEC First team choice on both sides of the ball in 1998, as he scored a team-high eight touchdowns and rushed for 337 yards. Minton was honored again for his football skills in 1999 when he was voted as one of the linebackers for the program’s 75th anniversary team, which was voted on by the fans.

Minton continued his track and field career at Indiana University where he earned a fourth place finish in the Big 10 Conference Outdoor Meet shot put competition in 2001. At the time of his graduation from Indiana, he ranked sixth on the Hoosiers all-time discus list with a throw of 183-0.

Minton ranked 27th nationally in the shot put during the 2003 indoor season with a throw of 59-2 3/4 and was an NCAA Regional qualifier in 2003 and 2004.

During his time at Indiana Minton was a three-time All-Big 10 Conference Academic Team selection and was an NCAA Life Skills Champ Recipient in 2003.

Currently, Mike is the director of the Trio-Student support services at the University of Southern Indiana.