Craig Hunter, LHS graduate, long time teacher, tennis coach
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Craig Hunter is a lifelong Libertyville resident, a 1966 LHS graduate, a 33 year LHS teacher, and a highly successful tennis coach.
While in high school, Hunter was a four-year letterman in both cross-country and tennis. He placed 10th in the county twice in cross-country, 11th in the conference. In tennis he was a conference doubles champion with long time friend Ron Kok-Alblas. Hunter was very involved in band and choir. He was involved in the musicals each year of high school.
From LHS, Hunter attended Graceland College in Iowa, receiving a degree in sociology, history, and social studies. He competed for Graceland's tennis and hockey teams all four years, winning a conference title in singles and coming in second in doubles. He met his wife, Mary, a Moline native, while at Graceland.
After first aspiring to go to law school upon graduation, Hunter changed his mind and went back to Graceland to finish his education degree. He got hired at LHS in the fall of 1971 to teach freshmen honors world history and geography, retiring after the 2004 school year.
Upon joining the LHS teaching staff, Hunter got into coaching right away, working in freshmen basketball with Jim Panther for 10 years, and with Gary Hodgson in track and field for four years, coaching the hurdlers and sprinters.
Hunter was asked to lead the girls tennis program for the fall of 1978. This began a 12-year run that saw his team fashion a 125-30 record. They won six conference championships and five sectional titles. His 1983 and 1984 teams took third in state; both teams were undefeated through the regular season.
Hunter left the boys track program in 1976 to take the newly created boys J.V. tennis coaching position, a position he stayed in for 12 years. He took over the boys tennis program for the 1988 season. He spent three years in this position, his teams earning a 21-4 record during this time. They tied for the 1990 conference title, won the sectionals, and placed 18th at state.
Following the 1990 season, Hunter made the decision to step out of coaching so he could watch his kids - son Brandon and daughter Kristan - play sports at LHS. He came back to coach girls and boys tennis as an assistant from 2002-17 (16 years). He reduced his role this spring to a volunteer status for the boys team to help Mary through cancer treatments.
Coaching honors for Hunter include being inducted into the Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010. He was inducted into the Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Hunter still lives in Libertyville. In addition to his tennis coaching, one of his hobbies is Wednesday night bingo, squaring off with his long time teaching and coaching friend Max Sanders.