Hall of Fame for longtime Warren coach Dawson
Longtime Warren Township High School track and cross country coach Bill Dawson will be honored with a spot in the Lake County High Schools Sports Hall of Fame next week.
Dawson said he was caught off-guard and humbled when he learned of the honor.
"I have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time ever since I started in athletics back in high school," he said.
Dawson will join a list of previous county sports hall of fame inductees from Gurnee-based Warren District 121 that includes wrestling and tennis coach Pete Campbell, baseball player Derek Shelton, head football coach and athletic director Mike Kunkle, baseball coach Ron Shelton and gymnast Danyelle Aber.
Plans call for the hall of fame induction ceremony to start about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at College of Lake County's gymnasium between the women's and men's basketball games.
Dawson has seven state championship teams to his credit in 38 years of cross country and track coaching at North Chicago, Stevenson and Warren Township high schools. He's been at Warren for 31 years. He said he had good fortune early in his career by joining a North Chicago High track and field team that finished third in the state.
"Then I went to Stevenson and had the opportunity to work with some really quality individuals," Dawson said. "How lucky do you have to be to walk in to a position and get to work for three years with a future Olympian like Mark Deady, who was an even better person than athlete?"
Deady was on the U.S. men's track team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Deady was inducted into the Lake County hall in 2013 for his Stevenson achievements in cross country and track.
District 121 Athletic Director Mark Pos said while a majority of coaches place their students first, Dawson has been especially impressive with his success because he doesn't cut anyone who wants to compete on varsity track or cross country.
"In some cases," Pos said Friday, "it's kids who might not play any other sports."
Among those heading into the hall with Dawson on Feb. 6 will be Lino Martinez, who coached wrestling at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire from 1984 to 2006.
Dawson said he wishes he could thank everyone who worked with him at North Chicago, Stevenson and Warren.
"This honor is more about the work they did," he said. "Hopefully, they enjoyed working with me as much as I have enjoyed working with them these past 38 years.