Dave Lindsey

Dave Lindsey spent five seasons as the Salina Central boys basketball coach, but most certainly left his mark during that time.

The Mustangs made three state tournament appearances in Lindsey’s five years, including a Class 4A state title in 1975. Central lost to Central Kansas League rival McPherson in the 1974 state title game, then lost three starters off that team and was expected to fall off during the 1974-75 season.

The Mustangs proceeded to go 12-0 in the CKL, the first unbeaten league record by a CKL team in 25 years. They returned to the 4A state tourney and rallied from an early double-digit deficit to defeat Kansas City Schlagle, 52-50 in the opener. Central then ran past Wichita Carroll 62-45 in the semifinals.

Central faced three-time defending state champion McPherson in the 4A title game, and outscored the Bullpups 17-8 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 45-40 victory at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
The Mustangs finished 22-2 that season, while McPherson was 18-6 and suffered four of those six losses against Central.

Lindsey’s team made a third consecutive state tourney appearance in 1976, losing in the opening round. He had an overall record of 64-46 in five seasons, including a 9-2 record against Salina South, and led the Mustangs to a pair of CKL titles.

David Reid

David Reid proved himself as a workhorse for the boys swimming and diving team during his high school career. He could swim and bring home points in every event, helping give coaches Keith Smith and Dawn Sheforgen the ability to tailor their lineup for each opponent at each meet.

Reid’s strength was anchoring relays, recording multiple lead-changing and come-from-behind victories over the course of his career.

After a late-season injury cost him an opportunity to compete at league and state meets as a freshman, Reid qualified for the state championships in the maximum four events as a sophomore, junior and senior.
He brought home his first state medal as a member of the Mustangs 400-yard freestyle relay team in 2007, then was a four-time medalist his junior year when Central put together one of its best teams in school history.

Reid finished fourth in both the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle as a junior, and helped the Mustang relay teams to a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle and fifth place in the 400 freestyle relay.

As a senior Reid placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle and, competing in the 100 butterfly for the first time at the Kansas high school championships, won an individual state title in that event with a time of 50.80 to earn all-American status.

It wasn’t until 2010, the year after Reid’s graduation from Central, that the Kansas state swimming championships were separated into two meets. Reid’s results came against the state’s best swimmers in all classifications.
On his induction into the Central Hall of Fame in 2025, 16 years after his high school graduation, Reid remains the school’s varsity record holder in four individual events (100 butterfly, 100 and 50 freestyle and 200 individual medley) and as part of two record-setting relay teams (200 and 400 freestyle).

In addition to his record-setting performances in the pool, Reid graduated valedictorian of his class. He went on to compete on the varsity swim team at Princeton University where he graduated in 2013 with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

1996 Central Football Team

One of the biggest comebacks in Salina Central postseason history not only enabled the 1996 Mustang football team to capture the program’s second state title in four years, but also established Central as a Class 5A powerhouse under head coach Marvin Diener for the next decade.

Central was absolutely dominating in the weeks leading up to the 1996 state title game, winning its three district contests and first two playoff games by a 42.4 average margin of victory. That included postseason wins against Arkansas City (42-14) and St. Thomas Aquinas (40-7).

Central was matched against No. 1-ranked, unbeaten and two-time defending 5A champion Liberal in the state title game at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. It marked the third time in four years that Central and Liberal met in the season finale. The Mustangs downed the Redskins in the 1993 championship game for the school’s first state title, and Liberal returned the favor the following year.

Central trailed 21-7 after a Liberal touchdown on the opening possession of the second half, but the rest of the game was all Mustangs. The defense held the Redskins scoreless the remainder of the game, and the offense got rushing touchdowns from Nathan Schwab and Parker Wallace (twice) to complete the rally. Wallace’s I-yard scoring run with two minutes remaining gave Central its first lead of the game.

With an 11-1 record, Central became the first Saline County football team to win 10 or more games in four consecutive seasons. The Mustangs averaged 418 yards of offense a game and set a school record with 450 points scored (37.5 average). Wallace also set a single-season state record with 3,064 yards rushing.

Parker Wallace was the AP Kansas Football Player of the Year. The Mustangs averaged 850.9 rushing yards a game behind an offensive line that averaged 280 pounds. It was the second of Central’s six state titles over a span of 13 seasons (1993-2005) and the third of eight state title game appearances in that stretch.