The oldest of the “Oldtimers”, Ross Smith, was the first outstanding track and field performer in Salem High sports. His specialties were the shot put, discus hurl and hammer throw – an event no longer held. In the South Central meet at Lebanon in 1905, an association that encompassed the southern part of Illinois, he garnered gold medals in all three events and advanced to the state track meet, taking second in the hammer throw.

Smith consistently won all the events in three years of high school competition. He won the shot put with 42′ 4″ and the hammer throw with 145’3-1/4″ – “a trifle more than the combined distance of the other contestants”. He was also an outstanding baseball player.

When a fire broke out during the 1905 graduation ceremonies, according to the Salem Herald-Advocate newspaper, he was credited with saving several lives by organizing an orderly evacuation.

An outstanding track performer, Hilgeford set an SCHS record in the 100-yard dash of 10.1 seconds, a record that still stands. Hilgeford was a top class sprinter, competing in the state track meet and consistently running 1-2 against world class sprinter Ralph Metcalf.

Sweney, a 1930 graduate, who also excelled in football and track after high school graduation at Illinois College in Jacksonville, set a pole vault record, using an old bamboo pole, of 11 feet, 3 inches, a record that endured for over 40 years. He also played football in high school and at Illinois College.

Mike Benchoff was a three sport star while in high school. He was a key defensive back on the 1953 SCHS football team that compiled an 8-1 record and outscored their opponents 348-65. The team capped their season with a 55-13 win over South Seven Conference champion, Mt Vernon.

Benchoff, who is now a trial lawyer in Phoenix, Arizona, is a graduate of Notre Dame and has been honored as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Benchoff was bracketed with Eddie Murray and Phil “Butch” Newport in the backfield during his junior year before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. As a senior, he was the free safety on the outstanding 1953 team that allowed only 10 touchdowns and recorded three shutouts in their eight victories that included a 19-6 victory over arch rival Centralia.
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A three-letter winner in three high school sports, Keith Stonecipher, now of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was a 1946 SCHS graduate.

He earned letters in football, basketball and track while at Salem and was an ALL-North Egypt Conference selection in football his senior year. In track he participated in the 440-yard dash, the long jump, discus, and on the 440-yard relay team.
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Bill Spratt, a triple threat halfback, amassed 3733 yards from scrimmage over a three-year period for SCHS. During that span from 1949 to 1951, the Wildcats had a combined record of 20-6-1.

The 1952 graduate, whose rushing and passing yardage totaled 1682 in his junior year, keyed Salem’s 8-1 record in 1950. Spratt scored 127 points that year. As a sophomore in 1949, when Salem tied for the North Egypt Conference title, the Wildcats had a 7- 1-1 record, Spratt rushed for 700 yards and scored 48 points.

In his three-year high school career, he rushed for 2455 yards and passed for 1278. Spratt also handled the punting chores and during his senior year, he caught four passes for an additional 43 yards. In three seasons, he scored 240 points.
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