Many of the same faces that helped the Salem Lady Wildcats golf team to a 13th place finish at the 1989 state meet and a tenth place mark at the 1990 state meet took the program to even greater heights in 1991.

The program won its first ever regional and sectional championship and improved its state meet finish to ninth under the direction of Coach Bill Morgan.

Salem lost just once during the regular season and compiled a 39-1 record going into the state meet before it settled for the final mark of 44-9.  During the regular season the Lady Wildcats won the Benton Invitational by 15 strokes over Carterville, an event where Julie Morgan and Anne Clark tied for Medalist honors. The Lady Wildcats were even more dominant when they won the Olney Invitational, as they had a 27- stroke margin of victory over second place Benton.  Amber Boyles was the individual medalist in that tournament. (more…)

Kristi (Beeson) Propst used her running and jumping skills to become a state medalist and record holder during her track career at Salem Community High School.

A 1989 graduate of SCHS, Propst wasted no time making a big splash on the track scene when she won a sectional championship and earned an eighth place finish at the Class AA state meet as a freshman in 1986. Propst’s leap of 5-5 that season stood as the school record for 14 years until Brittany Bowers broke it by one-half inch in 2000.

Propst still owns or shares three school track records including the 100 meter high hurdles at 15.2 set in 1989 and the 300 meter low hurdles of 45.8 set in 1987.
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One of the best multi-sport athletes in the history of Salem Community High School girl’s athletics, Tiffany (Husk) Tamminen carried that distinction on to the college level.

While Tamminen competed in cross country and track during her high school career, the 1994 SCHS graduate made her biggest impact in volleyball and basketball.

Tamminen was an anchor in the middle for three consecutive Salem North Egypt Conference championship squads, a streak that began in 1991 and carried on through her senior season of 1993.
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The 1943-44 Salem Wildcats basketball team ranks as one of the most successful in the program’s history.

Coach Kenny Farrar guided the squad to a 25-10 record, a share of the North Egypt Conference championship with Flora, a regional championship and advancement to the sectional championship game.

This particular group of Wildcats often had to come from behind to earn their success.

Salem had to win its final three games to get a piece of the NEC crown, which included a 37-33 win at Lawrenceville in the final conference game.
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While the 1995 Salem Lady Wildcats golf team was not large in numbers with seven players, they still rank as the most successful team in school history at the time of their 2010 Hall of Fame induction.

Six of the team’s seven members were returnees from the 1994 squad that finished 11th at the state meet. The only newcomer was freshman Candice Vogt.

Coach Mary Riley’s squad compiled an amazing 77-8 record, which included two wins over eventual state champ Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

In fact, those were the only two blemishes Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin had the entire season.
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More often than not the history book followed the 1994 Salem Lady Wildcats golf team. Under the direction of first-year coach Mary Riley, the Lady Wildcats had an undefeated regular season in nine-hole matches wi1h a 25-0 record.

That regular season record also included first place finishes at the Benton and Olney Invitational’s, a second place mark at the Edwardsville Invitational and a fourth place effort at the Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin Blazer Classic.

The Lady Wildcats broke school team records for lowest nine-hole and 18-hole scores. Melissa Cantrell also broke the school record for the lowest individual score in an 18-hole match.

A furious pace on the back nine enabled the Lady Wildcats to win the Carbondale regional championship by 19 strokes over the host school, 383-402.
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