The 1971-72 Basketball team, Coached by Lee Emery in his third year, achieved success in many ways. Their 17-9 record was one of the best in several years. Led by senior guards Don Jones and Dick Kagy, the Wildcats worked a ball control offense that also relied heavily on the inside game. Jim Sager, Greg Malan and Jack Sechrest provided much of the inside game. Jim Sager, Greg Malan and Jack Sechrest provided much of the inside scoring and rebounding while sophomore Ron Eller was a defensive player that helped with rebounding and inside scoring.

Salem was an early contender for the North Egypt Conference race battling Olney all season for conference title. Early wins against Mt. Carmel (58-50), Lawrenceville (70-62) and 1971 NEC Champions Fairfield (55-51) set the tone for a good season and the Centralia Holiday Tournament. A forth place finish in the tournament was Salem’s only trophy in their history in this tournament. Salem eventually finished second in the NEC but wins against Centralia, the first in fifteen years, and winning the 21st Salem Invitational Tournament, were definitely bright spots of the season.

The championship win over Olney by a score of 70-59 in the Invitational was the highlight of the season. Jack Sechrest led the way in scoring with 22 points while Greg Malan had 18 points and Don Jones had 13 points. The tournament championship was the first since 1966. Coach Emery said that “this was a fun team to coach that enjoyed a lot of success.”

While Steve Hill excelled in both football and basketball at Salem Community High School, it was golf that paved his way into not only a collegiate career but a professional career as well.

A 1969 graduate of SCHS, Hill was known as a fierce rebounder on the basketball court despite his lack of size inside. That ability led to special mention on the all-state team in the 1968-69 season.

In football Hill capped off a solid high school career in 1968 when he was named to the All-South Team as a split end.

Hill was medalist during several meets as a Wildcat golfer. His biggest moment came during his junior season in 1968 when he finished second at the regional and qualified for the state meet as an individual. During state competition Hill finished 30th out of 144 golfers.
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Only two Salem High School boys have ever placed in the Illinois state track meet and both occurred under the old one-class system.

The first came when Ross Smith placed second in the hammer throw in 1905.

The other was Louis Middleton, who placed in the state meet on two occasions.
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Ten years after his father went into the Salem Sports Hall of Fame, Howard Thurman Jr. now joins him in this elite group.

The son of former Salem coaching great Howard Thurman Sr.,Thurman Jr. was a strong athlete in basketball, track and football during his days as a Wildcat.

A 1952 graduate, Thurman Jr. set school records in both basketball and track at Salem. He set a single game scoring record of 34 points during a game in the 1951-52 season.

During that same year he broke the North Egypt Conference track record in the 180 yard low hurdles with a time of 22.9.
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A three-sport standout at Salem Community High School, 1964 graduate Mike Gibbs probably made his biggest impact for the Wildcats on the basketball court.

Late in the 1963-64 season Gibbs became the first player in school history to score 1000 points. His career total of 1023 points stood as the school record for 18 years until Jim Gaule broke it in 1982. He led the North Egypt Conference in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons and was an All-NEC First Team pick both years.

During his senior season he averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds a contest, both team highs. Those accomplishments led to Special Mention to the Champaign News Gazette All-State team.
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A better-than-average athlete in high school, David Meador did not let a tragic auto accident deter him from excelling in life and in his favorite sport. Meador lost his sight when a police car, in which he was riding on a trip home from completing his shift as a radio-dispatcher for the police department, gave a pursuit to a fleeing violator and crashed.

Meador, overcame his disability to become a successful businessman and one of the top golfers in the nation. He won the National Championship of the United States Blind Golfers Association (USBGA) at the Firestone Country Club at Akron, Ohio, in 1977 and has finished second seven times.
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