There were few who could keep up with Anthony Jett during his time with the Salem Wildcats track program. The 1995 Salem Community High School graduate claimed six individual North Egypt Conference championships. That list began during Jett’s sophomore season in 1993 when he claimed the NEC 400-meter crown. Jett defended that NEC title in the 400 meters as a junior in 1994 and also added a first place finish in the 100-meter dash to his resume. Jett became a three-event NEC champion during his senior season in 1995 as he posted victories in the 100-meter dash with a time of :11.0, the 200 meters at :22.6 and his third 400-meter championship at :50.2.

It was not just the North Egypt Conference where Jett dominated the sprints. Jett was a two-time individual qualifier for the Class AA state meet. The first occasion came during his sophomore season in 1993 when he qualified in the 400-meter dash with a runner-up finish at the sectional in a time of :50.9. Jett earned a return trip to state in the 400 meters as a senior in 1995 when he won the sectional championship with a school record time of :49.5.

Besides his varsity school record in the 400 meters, at the time of his Hall of Fame induction Jett held the school freshman record for the 200-meter dash with a time of :23.6 and the 400-meter dash at :51.9. He also owned the sophomore school record in the 400 meters at :50.7 along with school indoor records for the 200-meter dash at :23.7 and the 300-meter dash at :33.5.
Salem won NEC team championships all four years with Jett in its track program.

While Jett also participated in cross country and basketball during his time at SCHS, it would be track that would be Jett’s ticket to the collegiate level as he competed the next four season with the Murray State University Racers. While Jett remained in the sprints at Murray State, he was inserted into the hurdles competition. Despite being a novice at the hurdles, by the time Jett finished his time in college he was less than one second off the school record in the 400-meter hurdles.

After graduation Jett worked nearly 20 years as a construction manager of health care facilities from Alaska to Florida before he returned to school to pursue a Masters Degree in cybersecurity.

Even though boys bowling was still in its infancy with the school being in just its second year of competition, the 2005 Salem Wildcats not only emerged as one of the top teams in southern Illinois but the entire state.

Under the direction of coach Steve Ludwig, the Wildcats put together a strong regular season with victories over some of the south’s top programs such as Trenton Wesclin, Harrisburg and Waterloo. That set the stage for a tremendous postseason run as the Salem won the Herrin Sectional with a score of 5,867 pins. That was 23 pins better than runner-up Harrisburg. Sophomore Curt Denzik led Salem with a score of 1,230, which was good for a third place individual finish. Senior Travis Sweney took the No. 2 position for Salem with a score of 1,170 followed by senior Bob Sheehan at 1,175 and senior Chase Goostree at 1,006. Salem also got a round of 905 from freshman Alex Henseler and 202 from senior David Angeloni.

The Wildcats capped off their season with a third place finish at the state meet held at O’Fallon. Salem stood in ninth place out of 24 teams after day one with a score of 6,166 pins prior to its big move on the second and final day of competition. The Wildcats finished with a final score of 12,538 pins as they trailed only state champion Tinley Park, which had a score of 12,588, and runner-up Edwardsville at 12, 574. Henseler helped Salem reach its lofty position as he led the Wildcats at state and finished sixth overall with a score of 2,620 pins. Denzik also cracked the top 20 as he was 19th at 2,559. Sheehan took the No. 3 position for Salem at state with 2,541 pins followed by Goostree at 2,533, Sweney at 2,519 and Angeloni at 366.

The other varsity members for Salem in the 2005 season were Kyle Pruden and Jacob Steele.

The 2004-05 Salem Lady Wildcats basketball team put together one of the best seasons in the program’s history. Their 28-3 record matched the same mark compiled by the 1998-99 state team.

Under the direction of head coach Janet Holst, Salem was often its best during tournament time as the Lady Wildcats won their own Thanksgiving Tournament with a thrilling 46-36 victory over perennial power Edwardsville in the championship game. The Lady Wildcats finished runner-up at Mascoutah with wins over Marion, Mascoutah and Belleville West before falling 60-46 to Belleville East. Salem also won the Effingham Round Robin Tournament. The other big regular season Salem accomplished was when it won the Apollo Conference championship.

Salem began postseason play at home by winning its own Class AA regional as the top-seeded Lady Wildcats knocked off Charleston and Mattoon. The season came to an end for the Lady Wildcats when they lost to East St. Louis 44-33 in the semifinal round of the Mt. Vernon Sectional.

The 2004-05 Lady Wildcats possessed a deep roster, many of which moved on to the collegiate level. Senior Kim Kreke left the program as the school’s all-time season and career shot blocker. Kreke took her skills on to the Air Force Academy. Senior Shana Stein moved on to the University of Illinois at Springfield. Junior Lacey Hester went on to play at John A. Logan, while junior Erin Pea played at Kaskaskia College. Sophomore Ellen Young eventually became the school’s all-time career scoring leader with 2,500 points before she moved on to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the University of Southern Indiana.

Ryan Boyles provided some big moments for himself and the Wildcats track and cross country programs during his time at Salem Community High School. That ability and success would later continue on at the college level.

A 1996 graduate of SCHS, Boyles began to make a name for himself on the track during his sophomore season in 1994 when he won the North Egypt Conference championship in the 3200 meters with a time of 10:03. Later that season Boyles earned a ticket to the Class AA state meet in the 1600 meters with a runner-up finish at the sectional in a time of 4:35. Boyles added an NEC championship in the 800 meters during his junior season in 1995 as well as a runner-up finish in the 1600 meters to SCHS Hall of Famer Chris Owen. The same scenario repeated itself during Boyles’ senior season in 1996 when he once again won the NEC 800 meters and was second to Owen in the 1600 meters. Boyles, who won Salem’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1996, earned a return trip to the AA state meet in the 1600 meters with a sectional championship time of 4:31.

Boyles was a key contributor to the 1993, 1994 and 1995 Salem cross country teams that reached the Class AA state meet. He ran No. 6 and finished 151st at the 1993 state meet where Salem finished 21st as a team. A year later Boyles jumped all the way into the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats at the state meet where he finished 40th as an individual and Salem was 20th as a team. During the 1995 postseason run Boyles ran No. 2 for the Wildcats and 88th overall at the state race as Salem improved its team position to 16th. (more…)

Norton Spencer was a versatile and highly successful athlete during his time at Salem Community High School and later at the collegiate level.

A 1958 graduate of SCHS, Norton was a four-year member of the Wildcats football and track teams. He also had stints with the baseball and basketball program. His biggest success in high school came on the gridiron where he led Salem in tackles as a junior and was second in that category during his senior season. Spencer received Special Mention on the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News and Champaign News-Gazette All-State Teams. The Wildcats posted four winning seasons and an overall record of 22-13-1 during Spencer’s time with the program, which was under the direction of Coach Howard Thurman.

Spencer took his athletic skills to Eastern Illinois University where he was not only a key contributor to the Panthers football team, but wrestling program as well. During his sophomore season in 1959 he set a school record for solo sacks in a game when he had five against Southern Illinois. Besides earning three letters with the Eastern Illinois football program, he did the same with the wrestling team. Spencer took second place at the Midland Tournament and his only loss in dual competition during his junior and senior seasons was to NCAA champion Roy Conrad of Northern Illinois University. During his senior year at Eastern Illinois Spencer received the Blanket Award, which was the highest athletic award given by the school. (more…)

One of the best distance runners Salem Community High School has ever produced, 1993 graduate Travis Fredericks concluded his high school career with the Wildcats at the Class AA state meet in both track and cross country.

Fredericks was selected to the Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South Team three straight years beginning with his sophomore season in 1990 followed by return berths in 1991 and 1992. Fredericks also received Salem’s team Most Valuable Player Award in each of those three seasons. Fredericks had to settle for a runner-up finish at the North Egypt Conference Meet held at Salem’s Bryan Park during his senior season in 1992. That setback came to Jason Zieren of Carmi, who later went on to win the Class A state championship and starred at the University of Illinois.

Fredericks led Salem to a Class AA regional championship by winning the individual title with a time of 16:41. While the Wildcats were unable to advance to state as a team, a seventh place finish by Fredericks at the sectional race in a time of 15:47 earned him a trip to the state race as an individual. Fredericks was 54th at state with a time of 15:42. (more…)