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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More than 30 years after they last suited up the 1977 Salem Lady Wildcats volleyball team remains as one of the most successful in school history.

Coach Kathy Finney’s squad compiled a sparkling 25-4 record and its .862 winning percentage ranked second in school history at the time of its induction behind only the 1998 team’s 32-3 record and .914 winning percentage.

The Lady Wildcats compiled a 22-3 regular season record that included second place finishes at the Salem Invitational and Flora Invitational. There was no North Egypt Conference season in place at that time.

Salem captured the district championship on its home floor with a 20-1, 20-5 victory over Effingham in the opening round and a 20-18, 20-6 triumph over Mt. Carmel for the championship.
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The 1985 Salem Wildcats football team went places the program had never gone before or since at the time of its Hall of Fame induction.

Their 10-1 record is still the most wins in a season in school history as are their 417 points scored, their 3,514 yards rushing and 3,886 yards of total offense. They, along with the 1943 team, are the only Salem football teams to go through the regular season unbeaten, but the 1985 team is the only one to go unbeaten and untied. Coach Chuck Budde’s team achieved another school first with the program’s first playoff victory. Salem rode a potent one-two punch in its backfield to much of its success, as that squad is the only one in school history that featured two 1,000-yard rushers. Running back David Meador led that ground attack with 1,681 yards and 30 touchdowns on his way to being named the North Egypt Conference’s Most Valuable Player. Meador was joined in the backfield by Mark Byars, who rushed for 1,173 yards. Seven times Meador and Byars rushed for 100 or more years in the same game.
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The 1981 Volleyball team coached by Pam McCartney (Raymer) and assisted by Suzanne Henry (Brown) had an impressive team that won the North Egypt Conference championship and recorded a perfect 16-0 record against N.E.C. opponents.

In addition to the conference title, the Lady Wildcats had huge wins in their season by winning the Kaskaskia tournament and the consolation bracket in the highly competitive Carbondale Invitational tournament. Probably the biggest accomplishment of the 1981 season was winning the District Championship. Salem had to defeat Centralia in the first round of the tournament and then defeated Mt. Vernon in the Championship game. Mt. Vernon was highly favored in the Championship, especially since they had defeated the Lady Wildcats earlier in the season 2-0.

The volleyball team finished the season with an overall record of 24-7 and will go down as one of the best volleyball teams in SCHS history.