Salina High School Central

Prior to the addition of Salina High School South to the district in 1971, the school was originally called Salina High School. The present building at the intersection of Front and Crawford Streets was dedicated October 27, 1952 at 7:30 PM in the school's auditorium. The building replaced the Washington High School building on 3rd Street.[9] Architects from Wilson & Company designed the building which was constructed by Bauman & Borden Construction Co. W.M. Ostenberg was the Superintendent of the Salina School System and Owen E. Hodgson was the principal of the high school when the new building opened. The building was quite modern by standards of the day and was considered the premiere high school facility in the state of Kansas. The building had approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²) of space divided into classrooms, recreation and public use, and stairways and halls. There were 37 functional classrooms, four rooms used for libraries, a recital hall, and an art gallery and visual education. The four other rooms include the gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, and concourse. The current cafeteria, non-spectator gym and the block of classrooms located at the south end of the building was added in the 1960s. The library expansion occurred in the early 1990s. The construction on the stadium located to the east of the building was completed in 1965.

Beginning in the fall of 2007, a new physical fitness wing was added to the building. This addition included a new weight room, wrestling room, health classroom, two new locker rooms, a training room, and various offices. The project was completed and open for the beginning of the 2008–2009 school year. Over the 2008 summer, the new tennis complex was completed replacing the small, aging courts. Eight new courts were added just north of the stadium with a new softball field being added just northeast of the stadium.

Salina Central offers a wide variety of athletic programs due to the school's size. The athletic teams are commonly known as the "Mustangs" and are classified as 5A according to the KSHSAA.[13] Throughout its history, Salina Central has won many state championships in various sports.

Throughout its history, the Mustang football team has won 6 state championships, occurring in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005.[14] Additionally, the Mustangs had back-to-back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and held a 46-game winning-streak in district play from 1991 to 2007, until they were defeated by Topeka Seaman High School.[15]

The men's tennis program recorded its 6th consecutive KSHSAA 5A state title in 2009.[16] The men's tennis team currently owns eleven state titles, while the lady's tennis team owns three.[16]

In 2005 and 2006 the forensics team placed second in the state, and in 2007 they won 5A state breaking the all-time state record for number of points with 392.[17] They then proceeded to win state four times in a row through 2010.[18]

Salina High School Central offers the extracurricular activities:

Salina Central has become a front runner in theatre. Thespian Troupe 639 presented Noises Off! at the Kansas State Thespian Conference in Wichita in January 2008. The troupe also took Noises Off! to the International Thespian Festival held in Lincoln, Nebraska over the week of June 23–29, 2008.[23] It was one of 12 schools invited to perform at the festival, and one of two from Kansas. In the summer of 2010, Salina Central performed its second show in three years at the International Thespian Festival with the one-act The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World. Troupe 639 took the play "Funny Money" to International Thespian Festival in June 2012, and also took the comedy “Fox on The Fairway” to International Thespian Festival in June 2017.

Later, Troupe 639 would have its one-act “Lockdown” chosen as the Kansas Chapter select. Although “Lockdown” was meant to be performed at International Thespian Festival 2020, it was streamed on Virtual International Thespian Festival 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following school year, Troupe 639's “Antigone” directed by Barbara Hilt was chosen as a main-stage performance for Virtual Kansas Thespian Festival.

Central also has a choir program with about 150 students. In the 2012 contest season, many of the groups and soloist received 1 ratings.[24]