It was the 1996-97 school year, and the boys of fall and the boys of spring were running wild at Siuslaw High School.

And there was a self-confident new coach in town, Chris Johnson, the Vikings' then long-haired, 25-year-old cross-country coach.

He would soon enough part with the hair, but not the confidence.

"This is how cocky I was," Johnson said of his first team. "We got to the state meet, I said, 'We're from Siuslaw. We came here to win the state championship. Give us our packet.'"

The Vikings delivered, and now they are headed the school's athletics Hall of Fame in August.

Joining them will be the 1997 state-champion boys track-and-field team and eight Vikings legends, including:

• Dick Pickett (class of 1967), state Class A-2 & B wrestling champion at 141 pounds
• Doug Kelley (1993), state co-medalist on the Vikings' state-champion golf team
• Les Conley (1965), state 100-yard dash champion (won as a junior in 1964)
• Harold McClellan (1958), three-sport star
• Danielle Wilson (1987), three-sport star, No. 4 in both the discus and shot put on school's top-ten list
• Tony Winthers-Stonelake (1965), track and field pioneeer and state placer
• Brent Sanford (1992), who holds the school's single-game rushing record of 315 yards (1990 vs. Gold Beach) and is second all-time in career rushing for Vikings football team (3,032 yards)
• Wayne Jackson (1974), first-team all-state running back in football in fall 1973, with 1,299 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns
• 1996 state-champion boys cross-country team, coached by Chris Johnson
• 1997 state-champion boys track-and-field team, coached by Gary Giddens

The Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in 2011, will have 50 athletes and 10 teams with the addiion of the 2016 class.

"There are so many people so deserving of being in the Hall of Fame," Johnson said. "There's so many on deck. Year after year, you're just amazed at the calibre of athlete."

Johnson serves on the selection committee, which he says takes seriously the task of picking the best of the best.

"We read every application that comes in," he said. "Every year we go back over the applications again. We research it, we talk to people.

"I'm really excited about the work the committee has done."

Every legend has a story to tell, every team champion features plots and subplots.

Take the 1996 boys cross-country team, which won with an unlikely score of 133.

"The 133 points was the highest ever, but who cares, we'll take it," Johnson said. Glide had 141 for second and Rogue River 164 for third.

Scoring for the Vikings were Aaron Long, Woody Scott, Adam Bacon, Justin Mans and David Richmond.

Bacon was in Johnson's doghouse for district, but he sizzled at state.

"It was a bit looser before I got here, and he was missing practice," Johnson said. "I pulled him aside and told him, 'Miss another practice, and you're off the team.'"

As penalty, Bacon was demoted to junior varsity for the district meet, with the carrot a possible berth on the varsity for the state championships.

"He won the JV meet going away, and he ran a faster time than a couple of other guys on the varsity, so we put him in," Johnson said.

For all his youthful braggadocio, Johnson had reason for concern as the race entered its late stages.

"We were out of it with with a mile to go, then all of a sudden we were back in it," Johnson said. "They had a great second half of the race."

In the team scoring, Long finished 11th, Scott 18th, Bacon 20th, Mans 29th and Richmond 55th for the Vikings' 133 points.

"Bacon ran a PR (personal record) by more than a minute," Johnson said. "He ran out of his brain. He was the difference maker for sure."

The story gets better. Or possibly worse, if you were Johnson.

"I told the kids, if we win, you can shave my head," he said. "I had fluffy, 1990s hair."

Soon after the awards ceremony, the history-making Vikings made short work of his long locks.

NOTES

Johnson remains close friends with Justin Mans, who is second cousin to current Vikings running star Celie Mans. Celie won the individual title and the Vikings the team title in the 4A state championships last fall. ...

The induction ceremony will be held Friday, Aug. 19, at Three Rivers Casino. The public is welcome.