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.

Boyles later went on to run cross country and track at Eastern Illinois University. Twice Boyles earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors for the Panthers in cross country. On the track Boyles was twice All-OVC in the 1500 meters, the steeple chase and the medley relay. At the time of his induction into the SCHS Hall of Fame Boyles was a member of EIU’s second and seventh fastest teams in the 4 X 1600 relay.
Boyles served as a team captain during his senior season at Eastern Illinois in both track and cross country during his senior season.

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.

Twice Fredericks competed at state in track. As a junior in 1992 he was a member of the sectional champion 4 x 800 meter relay team that qualified with a time of 8:06.1 That team posted an 18th place finish at the state race. Fredericks got back to state as a senior in 1993 when he won the sectional championship in the 3200 meters and finished 13th in that event at the state race. Fredericks received the team Most Valuable Player Award in track during his senior season in 1993.

Fredericks continued his running career at the University of Southern Mississippi where he lettered in track and cross country in all four years he was at the school.

Salem had a dominant regular season as it won six invitational races. The Wildcats claimed the title at Murphysboro, Hannibal, Mo., Herrin, Mt. Vernon, Edwardsville and Springfield. They also successfully defended their North Egypt Conference championship.

The Wildcats postseason run began with their third straight regional championship. The following week Salem did something it had never accomplished before when it won the Decatur Sectional. Not only was that the first sectional title for the cross country program, but it was the first sectional title by a Salem boys team in any sport since the Wildcats basketball team turned the trick way back in 1943.

Salem closed out its season with a 20th place finish at the state meet, which at the time was its best in school history.

Ryan Boyles led the Wildcats at state with a 40th place finish followed by Chris Owen in 104th place. Brett Bundy was 133rd, Shaun Clark was 159th and Shawn Andrews was the fifth and final counter in 175th place. Other runners for the Wildcats at the state race were Rob Henson in 183rd place and Bob Sanchez was 198th. Boyles, Owen and Bundy had competed for Salem the previous season at state. Clark, Andrews, Henson and Sanchez were new to the lineup.

While his first Salem boys track team in 1985 came up short at the North Egypt Conference Meet, his squads came back to win the title in each of the next 16 seasons. Phillips’ greatest success with the Wildcats track program came in 1999 when Salem grabbed a share of the Class AA Murphysboro Sectional championship. That remains as the program’s only sectional title. That 1999 team later finished fourth at the state meet. During Phillips’ track tenure Salem qualified more than 30 individuals and 15 relay teams for the Class AA state meet in a two-class system.

When Phillips took over the boys cross country program in 1987 his teams won 15 straight NEC championships. Eight times his teams qualified for state, which began in 1987 followed by trips in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Salem won six regionals with Phillips at the helm (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998) and four sectionals (1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998). The 1998 squad cracked the top ten at state for the first time when it placed ninth.

Phillips took over the girls cross country program when the sport was still in its infancy. It was not until 1996 when the NEC held its first girls meet. Salem won that inaugural title followed by championships in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.

The Lady Wildcats qualified for the Class AA state meet six times during Phillips’ tenure with the first advancement in 1987 followed by trips in 1988, 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The 1998 team posted the best finish among those squads with a 15th place mark. Phillips’ girls’ teams won regional titles in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998 and the program’s only sectional crown in 1996.

Phillips was named the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Cross Country Coach of the Year for the state’s southern division in 1998 and received the same honor for the 1999 track season.

Phillips has been a lifetime Wildcat having played football and track at SCHS from 1967-1971. Phillips was part of a shuttle relay team that set the school record. Phillips attended Kaskaskia College and Eastern Illinois University before he returned to SCHS as a biology teacher. Phillips began coaching with the Wildcats football program in 1976 as sophomore coach and varsity assistant. Phillips continued that role until 1981 when he moved to the freshmen level.

During Phillips’ tenure as an underclassmen football coach his teams compiled a 48-13 record. Phillips’ best freshmen squad was the 1982 team that went 10-0. His 1984 team went 9-1.

It is not just athletic venues where Phillips enjoyed success. During the 1986-87 school year he filled in as scholar bowl coach and led that team to a second place finish at the state meet. While Phillips’ head coaching duties ended in 2002, he has remained active as a volunteer assistant boys track coach.

Led by individual championships by Chris Owen, Salem kicked off its season by winning the Murphysboro and Granite City Invitationals. The Wildcats displayed their team depth when they won the Herrin Invitational with their junior varsity squad led by a fourth place finish by Willie Shuler. The Wildcats won their fourth straight race to start the season when they claimed the title at the Mt. Vernon Invitational, as Salem had the first or second place finisher in five of the seven flighted races.

Salem suffered its first setback of the season when it finished second to Naperville North at the Downers Grove Invitational, but the Wildcats still had three of the top ten runners led by a third place finish by Chris Owen.

Salem moved back into the winners circle when it won the Springfield Invitational followed by a runner-up spot at the Peoria Invitational. Salem added another first place finish to its resume when it won the Metamora Invitational and closed out the regular season with a fourth place finish at the Benton Invitational in a meet where its varsity members remained home.

Salem’s only home meet of the season was the NEC Meet at Bryan Park where the Wildcats turned in a perfect score of 15 points to take the crown. Chris Owen broke the course record set by former Carmi and University of Illinois runner Jason Zieren with a time of 16:16. The rest of the perfect score was compiled by Henry Alers in second place, Nathan Purcell in third,Shane Kelly in fourth and Shannon Owen in fifth. Salem’s NEC championship effort also included Charley Stanley in sixth and Jason Ryan in eighth.

The success the Wildcats compiled during the regular season carried over to the postseason, as Coach Kirby Phillips’ crew won the St. Jacob Triad Regional by a 40-point margin over second place Centralia. Chris Owen won the individual regional championship with a time of 15:47, while the other counter spots were Purcell in sixth, Alers in seventh,Shannon Owen in eighth and Stanley in 13th. Also running for Salem were Kelly in 18th place and Tommy Oliverio was 20th.

Salem won its second straight postseason race at the Centralia Sectional when it edged Belleville West by a mere point,102-103, for the top spot. Chris Owen led the championship run with a second place finish in a time of 15:48. The other counters were Purcell in 16th place, Alers in 21st,Shannon Owen in 28th and Stanley was 42nd. Also competing were Kelly in 49th place and Oliverio was 57th.

The Wildcats finished the season with a 17th place finish at the Class AA state meet held at Peoria’s Detweiller Park with a lineup that contained just one senior. Chris Owen closed out a stellar high school career with a team-best 52nd place mark in a time of 15:29. Purcell, a sophomore, ran No. 2 and was 76th overall at 15:45, while Stanley, another sophomore, ran No. 3 and was 149th at 16:15. Alers, a junior, was 159th at 16:20 and Shannon Owen, a junior, was the final team counter in 164th place at 16:25. Also running at state were Oliverio, a sophomore, in 167th place at 16:29 and Kelly, a sophomore, in 205th place at 17:04.

The 1997 Salem Wildcats boys cross country team was loaded and ready for the fall campaign with six of their top seven runners returning from a very successful ‘96 season. The question that remained was who would step up to fill the shoes of graduated number one, Chris Owen.
The Wildcats started the season by losing the Murphysboro Invitational on a tiebreaker to the Mt. Vernon Rams, with each team scoring 41 points. The highlight of the race was the emerging of junior Nathan Purcell as the number one runner for the Wildcats and the individual race winner, setting a new course record. Charlie Stanley, Shane Kelly, Tommy Oliverio and Aaron Duke rounded out the counters for the Cats in that first meet.

Heading west to the Granite City Invitational gave the Cats their revenge on Mt. Vernon by taking the team victory with a score of 51 to the Rams’ 56. Once again, the men were lead by Purcell, Tommy Oliverio stepped up to the number two spot with a time of 16:03. Following was the tight pack of Shane Kelly, Henry Alers and Charlie Stanley in times of 16:14, 16:16 and 16:19 respectfully.

Herrin Invitational fell in the middle of that next week and the Wildcats were able to show their depth by winning the meet while resting their top group. The team victory was lead by Jeff Smith, followed by Shannon Owen, Aaron Duke, Josh McDonald and Brian Diefenbach.

The weekend found the Wildcats at the Mt. Vernon Invitational where they earned first place finishes in 5 of the 7 flighted races. Wins came from Purcell, Stanley, Kelly, Owen and Smith. Oliverio was second in his race, while Alers picked up a third. With a combined team score of 10 points, the Wildcats were 14 points better than runner up Centralia and this rounded out the first two weeks of an already very successful season.

Next, the Wildcats headed north to the 8 team Downers Grove Invitational where the men dominated the scoring with 21 points. Salem took five of the top seven spots in the race and all seven of the Cat’s runners finished in the top eleven. “Our boys ran extremely well. It was just a great team effort and that is what it takes,” said Coach Kirby Phillips.
That following Monday, the Cats returned south for the annual tri-meet with local rivals Centralia and Mt. Vernon. The team kept its winning streak alive with a 9-point victory over Centralia. Purcell remained unbeaten, Henry Alers ran number two for the Cats followed by Kelly in the third spot.

The Wildcats then traveled to Springfield where they continued to bring home the gold, with another win against the tough Central Illinois competition. The 72 points team score was 21 points better than Chicago Bensenville Fenton, the number 4 ranked team in the Chicago area.

The biggest challenge of the year lay ahead with the power packed Peoria Invitational next on the schedule, a big test for the team and an even bigger test for Cats number one Nathan Purcell. The team race was dominated by state powerhouse Elmhurst York with 32 points, and the Wildcats bought home a fourth place finish in the 39 team race. Purcell led the way with a 2nd place finish overall and he was followed by Alers, Kelly, Oliverio and Stanley to round out the Top 5, while Josh McDonald and Shannon Owen finished in the 6th and 7th spots for the Cats. The following week the Wildcats placed 2nd by one point to Pontiac at the Metamora Invitational rounding out their regular season schedule.

The Wildcats began the post season by winning the 16th straight NEC Championship and then headed to Centralia’s Foundation Park for the IHSA 2A Regional meet where the men placed five counters in the top twelve that morning to bring home the title with just 38 points.

The only thing between the Cats and another trip to the big dance was the IHSA 2A Sectional at Decatur. “Salem posted an almost unthinkable score of 71 points to win the meet.” Bruce Hixon, Salem Times Commoner sports editor penned of the Sectional Champions in the local paper. Purcell just missed the individual Sectional Championship by 2 seconds; senior Henry Alers was 7th, followed by Stanley, McDonald and Oliverio. Next in line came Jeff Smith and Shane Kelly. And the Cats were headed north again!

One week later the Wildcats found themselves at the ever familiar Peoria Detweiller Park and the IHSA 2A state championships. The 1997 Wildcats boys cross country team had high hopes but realistic expectations for the state race, looking to make school best finishes from both the team and individual runner in Purcell. Those hopes exceeded all expectations when Purcell ran to the first ever Top 25 place for the SCHS Wildcats crossing the finish line in 7th with a blazing time of 14:36 for the 3 mile course. A mere 6 seconds separated Purcell from 3rd place. He was followed by Alers in 73rd (51st among team runners), McDonald at 97th (68th), Smith in 131st (98th) and Stanley rounded out the counters in 145th (110th). Tommy Oliverio and Shane Kelly finished out the team for the Wildcats, who ran to a best-ever 13th place finish for Salem.

The 1997 Salem Wildcats Cross Country team led by Coach Kirby Phillips included Nathan Purcell, Henry Alers, Josh McDonald, Jeff Smith, Charles Stanley, Tommy Oliverio, Shane Kelly,

Purcell posted the highest finish by a Salem runner at the Class AA state meet during his junior season in 1997 when he finished seventh with a time of 14:36, as the Wildcats’ 13th place finish was their best as a team.

During his senior season in 1998 Purcell won individual regional and sectional championships followed by a ninth place finish at the state meet with a time of 14:44. That year the Wildcats climbed four more spots in the team standings with a ninth place finish.

Purcell was a two-time North Egypt Conference individual champion with victories in 1997 and 1998. During his senior season he earned a top 25 finish and was third among Illinois runners at the Foot Locker Mideast Meet of Champions. He was also selected to represent Illinois at the Midwest Meet of champions and finished fourth among Illinois runners.

A 1999 graduate, Purcell was named to the Southern Illinois Coaches association All-South Team four times (1995-98) and was chosen SICA Runner of the year on 1998.

Besides leading Salem to its highest team finishes at the state meet, he helped the Wildcats win four NEC titles, qualify for state four times and win three regional and sectional championships.

Purcell was equally successful in track and field capped off by a fifth place finish in the 1600 meters with a time of 4:19.07 at the 1999 Class AA state meet. Purcell was able to qualify for state in that event with a time of 4:26.5 despite being limited to only one race at the sectional meet due to illness.

Purcell also qualified for state as a sophomore in the 1600 meters and as a junior in the 3200 meters.
Purcell was part of multiple relay records at SCHS including the distance medley relay, the 6400-meter relay, the freshmen 3200-meter relay, the sophomore 3200-meter relay, the sophomore 1600 meters, the indoor 1600 meters and indoor 3200 meters.

Purcell won the program’s B.E. Gum Award in 1998 and again in 1999.

Salem won four NEC team championships with Purcell in the program and the 1999 squad posted its best finish at the Class AA state meet when it was fourth.

Purcell continued his cross country and track career at Indiana University where he competed for the Hoosiers at both the Big Ten Conference and NCAA level. During cross country Indiana finished 17th at the 2000 NCAA Meet and 25th in 2002.

Track events for Purcell at Indiana included the 1500 meters, the mile run, 3000 meters and 3000-meter steeple chase.

Purcell continued his athletic competition after his school days ended, as he participated at the Ironman Competitor held at Madison, Wis. in 2008 and finished 144th out of 2,207 entries.

Purcell received a Bachelors Degree in business management and marketing at Indiana and also a Masters Degree in engineering management at George Washington University.

Nathan works for the United States Department of State and his stationed in the embassy in Kuwait.

The 1997 Salem Community High School graduate qualified for state all four years in track and field as an individual, but he also was a part of four state-qualifying cross country teams.

Owen qualified for state in the 3200 meters in each of those years. As a freshman he advanced to state with a second place finish at the sectional meet with a time of 9:50.84 and was 12th in his heat at the state prelims at 10:04.06.

As a sophomore in 1995, Owen won the 3200 meters at the sectional meet with a time of 9:49.6 and was 25th at the state race at 9:57.

Owen was back at state again in 1996 as a junior when he won the 3200 meters at the sectional with a time of 9:49.2 and was 21st at state at 9:51.

As a senior in 1997, Owen qualified for state in two events for the first time advancing in both the 1600 and 3200 meters. Owen won both events at the sectional with times of 4:28.6 in the 1600 meters and 9:40.3 in the 3200 meters. Although he did not advance to the finals, Owen set a personal best time at state in the 1600 meters with a time of 4:25.3 and was 30th in the 3200 meters at 9:51.

Owen finished runner-up in the North Egypt Conference 1600 meters as a freshman in 1994 with a time of 4:37.3. Owen won NEC titles in the 1600 and 3200 meters the next three years.

As a sophomore in 1995 Owen won the NEC 1600 meters at 4:42.66 and the 3200 meters at 9:55.32. As a junior in 1996, he took the NEC 1600 meters at 4:34.2 and the 3200 meters at 10:46.8. As a senior in 1997 he took the league title in the 1600 meters at 4:35.4 and the 3200 meters at 10:04.

During the track postseason Owen earned his state berths with a second place finish in the sectional in the 3200 meters in 1994 at 9:50.84. He won the sectional 3200 meters the next three years with times of 9:49.6 in 1995, 9:49.2 in 1996 and 9:40.3 in 1997. Owen also won the sectional title in the 1600 meters in 1997 at 4:28.6.

Owen had similar success in cross country. During his freshman season in 1993 he was fourth at the NEC Meet at 14:36, fourth at the regional in 17:12, 36th at the sectional in 16:54 and 149th at the state meet at 16:15.

Owen did not run in the NEC Meet as a sophomore due to injury, but came back to finish eighth at the regional in 17:24, 27th at the sectional at 16:24 and 104th at state in 16:25.

As a junior in 1996, Owen won the NEC championship and set a new course record at Salem’s Bryan Park with a time of 15:21. Owen also won the St. Jacob Triad individual title at 15:47, was second at the sectional at 15:50 and was 52nd at state at 15:29.

Owen set another course record, this one at Olney, when he won the 1996 NEC championship with a time of 15:38. Owen once again won the St. Jacob Triad Regional title at 15:50, was sixth at the sectional at 15:54 and was 60th at state in 15:29. Owen continued his running career at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he competed for the Salukis from 1998-2001.

Owen earned varsity letters three times in track and four times in cross country. He was selected as team captain in both sports in 2000. He earned NCAA All-American Academic honors for the 1999-2000 school year. He won the cross country program’s Outstanding Leadership Award in 2000 and was a Student Government Senator.

Currently, Chris is a Sergeant with the Illinois State Police and the U.S. drug enforcement administration and is a full service K-9 handler with his partner Xocko.

The 1998 Salem Wildcats cross country team earned the distinction of the best season in the program’s history at the time of their induction into the Salem High School Hall of Fame.

Salem won six invitational meets with first place finishes at Murphysboro, Granite City, Mt. Vernon, Peoria Notre Dame, Springfield and Metamora. Salem’s depth showed when it finished second at the Herrin Invitational without using its top seven runners. The Wildcats other regular season meet was a seventh place finish at the Crete Monee Invitational.

Led by individual champion Nathan Purcell, Salem won the North Egypt Conference Meet held at Fairfield with a team score of 19 points. Fairfield’s Nathan Atkins went into the NEC meet undefeated on the season, but Purcell’s first place time of 14:49 beat Atkins by 17 seconds.

All seven Salem runners finished in the top ten at the NEC Meet, as Jeff Smith was third, Tommy Oliverio was fourth, Charlie Stanley was fifth, Josh McDonald was sixth, Brian Diefenback was eighth and Bucky Shuler was tenth.

Salem began the postseason path by winning the Class AA Mt. Vernon Regional with a decisive 25-66 margin over runner-up Centralia.

The Wildcats had four of the top five runners led by Purcell’s individual championship in a time of 15:29. Smith was third at 16:07, Stanley was fourth at 16:08, Oliverio was fifth at 16:13 and Kelly was the final counter in 12th place at 16:41. Also competing were McDonald in 13th place at 16:42 and Diefenbach was 19th at 16:55.

The Wildcats turned in arguably their best day of the season when they won the Centralia Sectional. Salem won the tough 20-team field by a 78-point margin (50-128) over runner-up Springfield.

Purcell followed his individual regional championship by winning the sectional by 22 seconds over his closest competitor. Smith was ninth at 16:03, Oliverio was tenth at 16:07, Stanley was 14th at 16:13, and Kelly was the final counter in 24th place at 16:33. Other participants were McDonald in 27th place at 16:38 and Diefenback in 127th place at 18:07.

Salem ended its season with its best ever finish at the state meet held at Peoria’s Detweiller Park, as it finished ninth with 242 points.

Purcell, who became the first Salem runner to crack the top ten at the state meet in 1997 when he finished seventh, came back with a ninth place finish in a time 14:44.

The other counters for the Wildcats were Stanley in 44th place at 15:19, Smith in 68th place at 15:31, Oliverio in 69th place at 15:31 and Kelly in 145th place at 16:07. The other state runners were McDonald in 147th place at 16:08 and Diefenbach in 174th place at 16:21.

Five of Salem’s seven state runners, Purcell, Stanley, Smith, Oliverio and Kelly, were seniors. McDonald and Diefebach were juniors.

Coached by Jim Corrona, the 1983 team won invitational meet titles at Herrin, Benton, Mt. Vernon and Harrisburg. The squad was regional champion and took second place in the sectional to earn its trip to the state meet at Peoria.Tidwell, and Russell Woodward.

Dennis Squibb was the individual winner of the conference race. Other team members were Donnie Cato, Chris Daniels, David Doherty, Paul Gierten, Terry Goodin, Jeff Mills, Brian Prince, Tim Sullens, Dennis Tidwell, and Russell Woodward.