If you’ve recently ventured in the STMS gym, you probably have noticed something quite exciting. Five vinyl sports banners adorn the left side of the gym wall. The banners, which are 7 feet tall, are in honor of the former Wildcat athletes who have made it to the big leagues.

The banners that are displayed honors Phillip Adams, Tori Gurley, Jonathan Meeks, Stephon Gilmore and Chelsea Douglas. Philip Adams currently plays football for the Atlanta Falcons. Tori Gurley plays for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Jonathan Meeks and Stephon Gilmore both play football for the Buffalo Bills. Chelsea Douglas, the only female being honored at this time, plays basketball overseas for the Freiburg Team in Germany.

“It’s great to see people honored in such a special way,” said Coach Black, who coaches STMS baseball. Students also think it’s a great idea. “To see the banners for the first time is something I will never forget,” says Ryland Collins, a 7^th grader.

For a long time Mr. Nesbitt, STMS video production teacher and Coach Stancil, STMS gym teacher, both had the idea of honoring student athletes from the past. This year they put their heads together and came up with the idea of the banners. They said it wasn’t that hard to figure out who was going to be on the banners. The honorees had to be in a professional sport of some sort and they had to have attended Saluda Trail.

The banners have inspired many students to become someone great. Students said as they face the banners, they wonder if they will ever be able to make it to the big leagues too.

“I think it shows the history of the school very well and also that it’s something that other schools don’t have at the moment,” said Mahogany Hart, a 7^th grader.