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.
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When it came to participating in Class AA state meets, Chris Owen was a fixture during his four years in high school.

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.
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By the time Jeff Morgan completed his golf career at Salem Community High school, the 1993 graduate had raised the standard bar to a new level.

At the time of his induction into the SCHS Sports Hall of Fame, Morgan owned the top three scoring averages with marks of 36.2 strokes per nine holes in 1991, 36.8 in 1992 and 37.6 in 1990.

Besides season averages, Morgan set course records at Salem Country Club with a three-under-par 33 and at Mt. Carmel with another round of three-under-par 33. Morgan finished first or tied for first in 37 of Salem’s 46 regular season meets during his four years in high school.
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While many sons follow in their father’s footsteps, Bob Jamison, Sr. is following in son, Bob Jamison, Jr., into the Salem High School Sports Hall of Fame.

The retired Salem High School and Salem Junior High instructor began a ten-year stint in the late 1960′s coaching the Wildcats baseball program, but that was just part of Jamison’s long involvement with baseball in the Salem area. Jamison was also involved with SCHS athletics as clock operator for the boys basketball team for ten years and the football program for 20 years. Jamison, who worked as a scout for the Cincinnati Reds for 30 years, served as a board member, director and groundskeeper for the Salem Little League program. Salem Little League dedicated Bob Jamison Field in his honor during a 1998 dedication at the new complex.
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Anne (Clark) Cather was the anchor for three straight state-qualifying teams at Salem and help lay the foundation for the girl’s golf program that began her freshman season.

The 1992 SCHS graduate played in nine postseason meets and led the Lady Wildcats in eight of those. That included the regional and sectional as a sophomore for a Salem team that finished 13th at the 1989 state meet. Cather had arguably her best high school postseason in 1990 as a junior when she was the individual runner-up at the Mt. Vernon Regional, the individual champion at the Belleville Sectional and finished 19th at the state meet for the Lady Wildcats squad that improved its state finish to tenth. Cather led Salem in all three of its postseason meets as a senior, as she was fourth at the Murphysboro Regional, seventh at the Edwardsville Sectional and 24th at the 1991 state meet. Cather’s performance helped Salem win its first ever regional and sectional championship and helped the Lady Wildcats improve their place at the state meet by another notch to ninth.
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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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