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SHS’s Athletic Hall of Fame’s 2022 class announced

Three individual athletes, two coaches, one team, and the annual Joe Kelley Spirit of Salem Award winner comprise the Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.

The individuals are Paul Roelen (Class of 1937), cross country; Bob Magyaros (Class of 1985), football; and Ben Eisel (Class of 2010), football and track. The coaches are Roger Zeigler (1988-2000, 2014-16); girls basketball and Steve Stewart (2000-06, 2013-14); girls basketball. The team is the 2007 boys track state runner-up team. Lastly, Richard (Dick) Paxson (Class of 1961) has been selected with the Joe Kelley Spirit of Salem Award.

The induction dinner and ceremonies will be held Thursday Sept. 1, at the Salem Community Center. The event will mark the 17th class of the Hall of Fame, an independent, nonprofit entity guided by a committee of local citizens.

Tickets to the dinner may be purchased for $35 at the Salem Community Center, 1098 N. Ellsworth Ave., or by phone at 330-332-5885. Reservations will be accepted through Aug. 25 or until the event is sold out. Advertisement opportunities for the program of the induction dinner are also available. For more information, email shs.athletichof@gmail.com.

All inductees are displayed in the kiosks of the main lobby of the Salem John A. Cabas gymnasium. There is also a Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame facebook page and an upcoming individual website that is devoted to honor all inductees. Nominations for the Hall of Fame are accepted from the public each year and can be submitted via email or through the facebook page.

Following are the career highlights of the 2022 selections, who will be also recognized at the home football game on Friday, Sept. 2:

Paul “Shag” Roelen

Class of 1937-Cross Country/Track and Field

“Fleet footed they are, these champion harriers” reads the description used in the 1937 Salem High School yearbook to highlight the 1936 state-qualifying cross country team led by state champion Paul Rodney Roelen. Coached by Ray Bromley Clarke, Paul “Shag” Roelen proved to be a standout distance runner in both cross country and track.

The 1937 graduate had a stellar running career at Salem High School. Roelen qualified for the state cross country meet three years in a row while also achieving All-Ohio status. As a sophomore, he placed sixth overall in the state meet. The following year, he finished second overall individually while helping his team also earn an overall runner-up finish. The top of the podium is where “Shag” ended his senior year as the state individual champion in all of Ohio. His state championship run posted a time of 10:08 (two-mile course).

Along with being a standout cross country runner, Roelen also excelled on the track in the mile run. His greatest achievements were once again qualifying for the state championship meet and placing to receive All-Ohio honors. Roelen earned a fifth place finish in his sophomore year while running to a fourth place finish as a junior.

Roelen continued his running career in both cross country and track at the University of Pittsburgh. Roelen left behind a legacy for other Salem High School distance runners that continues today. Roelen passed away in 2006.

Bob Magyaros

Class of 1985-Football

The Mighty Quakers football team has produced some tough athletes throughout the years, and Bob Magyaros is definitely one of them.

Magyaros left his mark on the gridiron by being named First Team All-Columbiana County and All-Area as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Proving his versatility on the field, he was selected First Team All-Mahoning Valley Conference in four different positions. As a junior, he was selected First Team All-MVC at both wide receiver and as a punt/pass returner. He then was selected for first team honors again as a senior but as a running back and punter. For his career, he set the then overall all-purpose yardage record in school history with close to 3200 total yards.

His junior season consisted of 845 yards rushing on 169 carries to go along with four touchdowns. Despite playing the latter part of the season with a deep thigh bruise, he also led the conference in punting.

In Week 1 of his senior campaign under first year head coach Joe Rottenborn, the 5-9 180 pound Magyaros rushed 20 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-12 win over Cleveland East. He also caught eight passes for 91 yards and averaged 45 yards on four punts.

For his efforts, he was named the Cleveland Plain Dealer “Back of the Week.” Later in the season, he was recognized as a WYTV Student-Athlete of the Week. The Quaker co-captain finished his senior season with over 1100 combined total yards rushing and receiving and nine touchdowns. Also a standout starter at linebacker, Magyaros was selected First Team All-Northeast Ohio Inland district as a running back and played in the 1985 Penn-Ohio All-Star football game.

In addition to multiple sports successes in basketball, wrestling, and track and field, Magyaros was a multi-year National Scholastic Art Winner with paintings that went to the National Scholastic Art Show in New York City.

Magyaros continued his football success at the next level with a scholarship to play football at the United States Air Force Academy. Nominated by Ohio Senator Douglas Applegate, Magyaros played multiple positions at the academy as a halfback, fullback, and backup punter.

Currently residing in Chagrin Falls, Magyaros is the National Sales Director for a Solon manufacturing company. He enjoys spending time with his three children Ali, Mac, and Piper.

Coach Roger Zeigler

(1988-2000, 2014-16)-Girls Basketball

Some things in life are worth waiting for. After over fifteen years as an assistant coach for both the Salem boys and girls basketball teams (under head coaches Len Hardman, Al Bailey, Rick Hackett, and Jim Shivers), Roger Zeigler finally embarked on his journey to becoming the all-time wins leader of the Salem girls basketball program.

In the 1988-89 season, the Lady Quakers achieved a 13-7 record in Zeigler’s first year at the helm. His success continued the next twelve years, most notably in the 1993-94 season. The talented Salem team, led by the school’s still current all-time leading scorer Valerie Scott (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2014), finished the season with a 24-2 overall record and its first league (Mahoning Valley Conference) championship in 14 years. An inaugural member of the first ever Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame class (2007), the team remarkably reached the state final four for the first time in school history. Zeigler received statewide accolades by being named the Ohio Division II Coach of the Year.

In the 1999-2000 season, Zeigler’s final year as head coach, the Lady Quakers, led by 1,000-point scorer Kelly Paxson (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2017), ended with a 19-5 record and a district runner-up finish. Salem appeared in two other district championships and won three additional conference (MVC and Metro Athletic Conference) championships during Zeigler’s tenure. He was also named Columbiana County Coach of the Year five times, Mahoning Valley Coaches Association Coach of the Year three times, and Northeast Ohio Inland District Coach of the Year and Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year two times.

A year after his final season as head coach, Zeigler retired from his guidance counselor position with Salem City Schools in 2001. However, in 2002, Zeigler returned to the Lady Quakers bench to serve as an assistant to his successor, Steve Stewart, and enjoyed a second state final four trip with the 2003-04 team (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2021). In 2005, Zeigler earned another accolade by receiving the Ohio High School Association State Award for Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity. Zeigler remained with the red and black through the 2005-06 season.

In the summer of 2006, Zeigler resumed duties as a head coach by accepting a position with the girls basketball program at United High School. Zeigler coached the Lady Eagles for five seasons and compiled an overall record of 87-26. Similar to the success he experienced at Salem, his United teams won three conference championships during his tenure, including a district championship in 2009.

In the 2013-14 season, after a brief break away from the game, Zeigler returned to his roots and came back to the Salem sideline. He once again joined up with Stewart, who served as head coach. The very next season, Zeigler resumed his familiar role as head coach of the Lady Quakers for the first time in 15 years. He guided the Lady Quakers for two seasons until he officially retired from the game in 2016.

Zeigler finished with an overall record of 202 wins (the most in school history) and 100 losses throughout his 14 year career as head coach of the Lady Quakers. He also experienced seven seasons of winning 15 or more games. His overall coaching record at Salem and United stands at 289-126 over 19 seasons.

Currently, Zeigler still resides in Salem with his wife of 57 years, Karen. They have three adult children, Tara, Travis, and Trent, and five grandchildren.

Coach Steve Stewart

(2000-06, 2013-14)-Girls Basketball

Steve Stewart was synonymous with success when it came to the girls basketball program at Salem High School. After serving as an assistant under head coach Roger Zeigler from 1993-97, including a trip to the state final four in 1994, Stewart took control of the program in 2000.

During his six-year run as head coach from 2000-2006, Stewart compiled an overall record of 110-34. His tenure included three MAC championships in a row (2003, 2004, 2005), back-to-back district championships (2003, 2004), back-to -back district runner-up finishes (2005 and 2006), and the second state final four berth in school history (2004).

In three seasons from 2002-2005, the Lady Quakers, led by future SHS Athletic Hall of Famers Alyson Cotter (HOF Class of 2016) and Lauren Teal (HOF Class of 2014), had an astonishing record of 67-8. The 2003-04 state final four team (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2021) had a record of 25-2, which is still the best in school history.

Stewart received many honors over his Salem coaching career including being named both the Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was also named the Division II Northeast Ohio Inland District Coach of the Year in 2003.

Stewart retired from coaching in 2006 and from the Salem City Schools in 2008 as Director of Federal Programming and Technology. However, Stewart came back as head coach and guided the Lady Quakers during the 2013-14 season. Stewart reunited with Zeigler for his lone return season before Zeigler began his own second stint as head coach the following year. Stewart finished with an overall record of 117 wins and 49 losses on the Lady Quakers sideline. His winning percentage of .704 is the best in school history.

Prior to his Salem coaching career, Stewart had a monumental career as the head girls basketball coach at Lisbon High School. Stewart guided the Lady Blue Devils to the 1989 state final four and won a district championship in 1991. He was also named the Ohio Division III Coach of the Year in 1991. His overall head coaching record at Lisbon and Salem stands at 230-76.

Stewart currently resides seasonally in Columbiana and Fort Myers, Florida with wife Kathy.

They have two adult children, a son Joel and a daughter Jana. Jana, SHS Class of 1997 and a former Lady Quaker basketball player, served as an assistant coach for the 2004 Salem state semifinal team. The Stewarts also have six grandchildren.

Ben Eisel

Class of 2010-Football/Track

Vince Lombardi once said, “Mental toughness is essential to success.” This quotation brilliantly defines the high school athletic career of Ben Eisel both on the football field and around the track.

Eisel had a stellar start to his Quaker football career. As a sophomore, he hauled in 56 catches and broke the school single season record for receptions set by Zac Grey (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2016) back in 2003. With the help of quarterback Zac O’ Brien, Eisel finished the season with 686 total receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

With high expectations going into his junior season, the standout receiver was sidelined with an injury. Eisel did not play an offensive or defensive snap the entire season and was regulated to minimal kicking duties throughout the year.

Looking to make up for lost time as a senior, Eisel was named captain before embarking on both a historic individual and team season. Under first year head coach Mike Kopachy, the Quakers finished the regular season with an 8-2 record, the program’s best since 1994.

Featuring junior quarterback Trent Toothman (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2021), the team became the first in school history to qualify for the postseason, securing the fifth seed in region 11 of the Division III playoffs (which had expanded to eight teams per region in 1999). Despite facing more adversity with playing part of the season with a fractured wrist, Eisel was still able to have a monster season. The standout scored touchdowns five different ways: receiving, rushing, kick-off return, punt return, and defensive interception return. However, his biggest accomplishment might have actually come from his leg. Travelling over two hours away to face Granville in the playoffs, the Quakers found themselves in a tight game. Trailing 31-28 with only 1 second remaining in regulation, Eisel connected on a 34 yard field goal to send perhaps the biggest game in school history into overtime. The Quakers would go on to win the game, 38-31, securing the first postseason win in school history. The Quakers’ historic season unfortunately ended the following week, falling 34-10 to defending state runner-up and perennial power Steubenville.

Eisel’s sensational senior season culminated with breaking his own school record for receptions in a season (74) and also erasing even more school records previously held by Grey. The 2010 graduate set then new marks for receiving yards (1111) and touchdowns (10) in a single season. He also achieved then career school records with 130 total receptions, 1797 receiving yards, and 17 touchdowns.

For his senior campaign efforts, Eisel was named to the Division III All-Ohio First Team as he totaled 2,176 yards from scrimmage and scored a still current school record 168 points in a season (40 extra point makes). He was named First Team All-County and First Team All-League and was selected to the WKBN Big 22 Team. The record-breaking receiver also played in the Under Armor Football Classic.

In addition to football, Eisel excelled at the highest level in the sport of track and field. Fully healthy for his junior year of track, Eisel was a member of the state champion 4 x 200 relay team. Featuring Eisel, freshman Zak Penick, junior Dustin Huffman, and junior Dustin Matak, the team set a then school record of 1:28.37 and became the first relay state champs in school history.

Eisel qualified in four different events at the state meet his senior year – the 100, 200, 4×100 meter relay and 4×200 meter relay. He achieved All-Ohio status in three of the four events -placing 4th individually in the 200, while placing 3rd in the 4×100 meter relay and 2nd in the 4×200 meter relay. He just missed All-Ohio honors in the 100 placing 9th overall. Eisel is still the current school record holder in the 200 with a time of 22.13, achieved as a senior.

Eisel continued his football career collegiately at Edinboro University. In 2012, the redshirt sophomore receiver caught 41 passes for 562 yards and five touchdowns. The following season, Eisel earned second team All-PSAC West honors after leading the team with 45 receptions for 528 yards and a touchdown. His 11-catch performance in the season opener against Walsh was two catches shy of the school record. He also served as the team’s punt returner, returning 18 punts for 205 yards, including a 69-yard return for a touchdown against Slippery Rock. His 11.4 return yard average ranked third in the PSAC and third all-time in school history. He finished his career with 126 total catches for 1525 yards and six touchdowns. He also broke a then school record with 75 total punt returns.

Eisel graduated from Edinboro with a degree in Exercise Science and is currently enrolled at Ashland University in the Physician Assistant Program. He lives in Kent, Ohio, with a summer wedding planned with his fiancee, Erika.

2007 Boys State Track Team

The 2007 boys track team took the already well-established Salem track program to the next level. Led by a multitude of individual and relay team performances, the team was able to lay claim as Ohio Division II State Runner-up, the highest team finish in school history. Coached by Todd Huda, the state team was senior-ladened and versatile across the board. During the course of their journey to the state level, the runners won team championships at the county, league, district, and regional levels.

The 4 x 100 state relay team featured lone sophomore Jason Keniston and seniors Matt Moffett, Josh Lutz, and Jon Lee. The team finished in second place at regionals by running a then school record of 43.01. They also ran to first place finishes at the county, conference, and district levels. At the state meet, the team had a 5th place finish with a time of 43.37.

The 4 x 400 state relay team consisted of seniors Cory Rickman, Lutz, Moffett, and Lee. The team, with the help of freshman Dustin Huffman, set the Columbiana County Meet record with a time of 3:28.74. The relay team then won the conference, district, and regional meets. Rickman, Lutz, Moffett, and Lee finished 4th place at state with their best run of the year, a then school record time of 3:21.88.

The 4 X 200 state relay team was comprised of Keniston, Lutz, Moffett, and Lee. The team finished in first place at the county (then meet record of 1:31.25), conference, district, and regional meets. However, they saved their best time for last with a then school record run of 1:29.18, leading to a 3rd place finish at the state meet.

Various members of the relay teams competed at the collegiate level. Matt Moffett went to Kent State University where he ran both indoor and outdoor track for two seasons. He was the Mid -American Conference Indoor Champion in the 400M in 2010. Moffett was also a member of the MAC Champion 4 x 400 indoor and outdoor relay teams in 2010 and 2011. Jason Keniston went to Malone University and was a member of the still current school record 4 x 100 relay team.

Quaker senior Jeremiah Folger was a standout thrower in both the shot put and the discus. Leading up to the regional meet, the school’s four-time field event MVP placed first in the shot put in every meet he entered during his senior year. His performances led to his being named the Columbiana County Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Folger qualified in both the discus and the shot put for regionals, where he earned a 2nd place finish. Folger also finished in second place at the state level the following week with a shot put throw of 55-10. On the state’s biggest stage, his runner-up performance was just a foot shy of his farthest shot put throw of the season. Collegiately, Folger went to Youngstown State University and competed in the shot put for four years.

Patrick Gorby (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2019) had a record-setting senior season. Gorby set the then Columbiana County Meet record in the 800M with a run of 1:57.26. Later in the season, he had the best Division II performance ever in the state of Ohio with a then record run of 1:52.48 at the regional meet. The regional champ then became the Division II state champion in the 800M with a run of 1:52.76. The highly decorated Quaker ran both cross country and track for three years at Kent State University.

Richard “Dick” Paxson

(Joe Kelley Spirit of Salem Award)

You may or may not have seen Richard “Dick” Paxson high above the playing surface, filming games at many different Salem sporting events over the years. The long-time Salem supporter’s love of Salem sports truly began when his children Christi (SHS Class of 1998), Kelly (SHS Class of 2000 and SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2017), and Rich (SHS Class of 2003) got involved in athletics.

In 1995, Paxson started filming his daughter’s volleyball and basketball middle school games. He was also heavily involved with the girls basketball booster club. Whether it was selling 50/50 tickets or helping create a girls basketball scholarship, Paxson was there to support the Lady Quakers in any way possible. The 1961 Salem graduate continued filming both volleyball and girls basketball games at the high school level until Kelly graduated. He then took a hiatus so he could attend every one of her collegiate basketball games at Hillsdale College (MI) from 2001 to 2005. He later resumed filming for the Lady Quaker volleyball and basketball teams in 2017. He has also filmed for the varsity football team at various times.

When not behind the camera, Paxson loves to cheer on the Quakers at all sporting events. Some of his favorite memories include the 1999 Lady Quaker volleyball state final four team (SHS Athletic HOF Class of 2010) and most recently the 2022 girls varsity basketball team, who won the school’s first district championship since 2004.

Paxson resides in Salem and enjoys spending time with his children and seven grandchildren, four of whom will be future Salem graduates themselves.

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