Libertyville honors Eggert with decisive win
There was not as much drama on the mat as expected, but it was still a big meet for the Libertyville wrestling program and coach Dale Eggert on Friday night against Warren.
The Wildcats were very dominant as they recorded seven pins en route to an impressive 62-12 North Suburban Conference victory over the Blue Devils in this Lake Division dual meet.
Libertyville (11-2, 4-0) also honored Eggert before the meet for capturing his 500th career victory last weekend in a triple-dual meet at Schaumburg.
Now with a career record of 501-112-2 in his 27th season, Eggert ranks eighth in IHSA history for wins with a sparkling winning percentage of .820.
Eggert was presented with a glass plaque for the 500th win before the meet along with a special shirt from the team commemorating the historic victory No. 500.
“It’s kind of a dream come true for me to stay in the position I’ve been in all these years,” said Eggert, who had many family members, friends, and alumni in attendance for the historic night. “We’ve been doing very well, we’re getting a lot more offensive, and we’re making it count.”
Starting at 170 pounds, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard right away as elite senior Kayne MacCallum (22-1) recorded a pin in 4:39. The Eastern Michigan University-bound MacCallum is now tied for 12th place in school history with 106 wins.
“We were really happy about it (Eggert’s 500th win), and the whole ceremony got us pumped up,” said MacCallum, whose only loss this season was at the Hoffman Estates tournament. “We wanted to do it for our coach and he’s basically mentored us since eighth grade.”
The Blue Devils (1-2 in Lake Division) actually hung tough early in the meet as a pin by 182-pounder Rakheem Chapman deadlocked the score at 6-6.
But even without senior state qualifiers Austin Koziol and Kevin Barbian in the lineup due to illness, Libertyville was hitting on all cylinders on this night as a 12-2 major decision by 195-pounder Mark Dunsing started the Wildcats going on a great roll.
At 220 pounds, Tim Grote followed Dunsing with a pin for a 16-6 advantage before 285-pound teammate Chris McDermand posted a 6-0 decision over Sawyer McCaffery to extend the lead to 19-6. McCaffery held off a near pin in the final seconds to avoid any team bonus points for Libertyville.
106-pound sophomore Joey Locascio added a pin in just 56 seconds before 113-pound teammate Pat Potts captured a 12-3 major decision to put Warren in a 29-6 deficit.
“They’re a really good team this year and when you have that many good kids in the room the other kids are going to get better,” said Warren coach Jim Ouimette. “He (Eggert) is a phenomenal coach and you don’t get to 500 wins without knowing what you’re doing.”
Pins by 120-pounder Dan Schilling and University of Minnesota-bound Steve Polakowski at 126 made the score 41-6 with five matches remaining.
Libertyville’s Will Johnson kept the momentum going with a 16-6 major decision at 132 for more team bonus points before a pin in 4:52 by 138-pound teammate David Truskowski made the score 51-6.
145-pounder Nick Andrews kept at it until the bitter end as he recorded a pin with just six seconds left in the third period.
Then 152-pound junior teammate Joey Gunther recorded a technical fall in 5:09 and the Blue Devils trailed 62-6.
Warren senior Emery Parker did close out the meet on a positive note for the Blue Devils as he pinned his opponent in 1:33 to account for the final score.
“We had some great matches tonight and they love Friday night Lake Division duals,” said Eggert, who retired from teaching two years ago. “I was really happy with David Truskowski at 138 and he had a nice pin move.”
The Wildcats will visit Lake Zurich next weekend in NSC Lake Division action before a showdown with Stevenson in a meet that could decide the Lake Division championship on Jan. 24.