Dale Eggert: Dedicated Teacher, Legendary Coach, Lifelong Wildcat
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Dale Eggert (Libertyville High School, '74) is a lifelong Libertyville resident known not only for his outstanding wrestling achievements while at Libertyville High School, in college and post-college, but also for his longtime dedication to LHS and his impact as a coach for Wildcat wrestling.
Eggert began wrestling as a freshman at LHS and was a two-time state qualifier. He placed second in state as a senior in 1974. Eggert was named the school's Outstanding Senior Athlete while competing in football, wrestling and baseball, being named to the All-Conference baseball team twice as a third baseman.
Eggert was active in Greco-Roman and freestyle outside of the high school season, placing in three Junior State Greco-Roman Tournaments and two Junior State Freestyle Tournaments. He earned Greco-Roman all-American honors in 1974 by placing third in the junior nationals.
He continued his wrestling career at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and was named the team's Most Valuable Wrestler his senior year in 1978. He graduated with a degree in health education and returned to LHS as a teacher and coach, serving as an assistant wrestling coach for nine years. In 1987 he was named the IWCOA Assistant Coach of the Year. He began his head coaching tenure at Libertyville High School in 1988.
He taught health education, driver education, and physical education at LHS for 33 years and, in 2007, was named the LHS Teacher of the Year.
In the 2017-18 school year, coach Eggert began his 40th year coaching in the LHS wrestling program and his 31st year as the head coach.
His impact on LHS student-athletes extends beyond the wrestling team, as Eggert has also coached 23 years of freshman football, 16 years as the freshman head coach, eight years of boys soccer, six years of freshman baseball, and six years of freshman softball. He has also served as a sponsor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes since 1996.
Eggert's wrestling coaching honors include the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Assistant Coach of the Year in 1987 and the National Wrestling Coaches Association Illinois Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2014. He was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He's been named a State Tournament Grand Marshal in 2014 by the IWCOA and a top-five finisher for the IWCOA Illinois Coach of the Year in 1995, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2014.
On Oct. 18, 2015, Eggert was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter and awarded the 2015 NWHOF Lifetime Service Award. He serves on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame selection committee, Illinois Chapter, and has been a table worker at the Midlands Wrestling Tournament for more than a decade.
Eggert has led his Wildcats to 550 dual meet victories, 21 regional titles and 16 conference titles, and they have qualified for the Dual Team State Tournament six times, placing fourth in State in 2008. He has coached 105 state qualifiers, 27 place winners and one state champion, Mike Baumann (119 lbs.) in 1991.
Dale continued his competitive wrestling after leaving college, competing in the Prairie State Games from 1984 to 1998. During that time, he won 14 gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal. In 1994, he was named Prairie State Games Athlete of the Year. He has wrestled in 14 Midlands Championships after graduating from college and placed seventh in the Midlands at the age of 40.
In 2014, Eggert was named one of the first recipients of the District 128 Foundation for Learning Alumni Achievement Award. The Alumni Achievement Awards go to individuals who graduated from a District 128 high school and who have made significant contributions and demonstrated leadership and character in his/her field and to his/her community.
Dale was a driving force in the planning of this year's LHS Centennial Celebration, serving as a planning committee member, community speaker, centennial video coordinator, and author of the majority of articles for the Daily Herald Series of Centennial Articles.
Retired LHS Athletic Director Tim Albers said of Eggert, "When I got the athletic director job at LHS, former athletic director Dick Spangler told me Dale Eggert is so valuable because he can coach anything and will do it extremely well. He had coached soccer, softball, baseball, football and, of course, wrestling. Dick was so right," Albers said. "Dale always goes above and beyond for his athletes and is an excellent communicator with parents."
Albers shared that his best tribute to Eggert happened just a few weeks ago at a middle school sectional wrestling meet that he and Eggert attended.
"In that meet, I believe seven of the nine coaches at that sectional had wrestled for Dale," he said. "He is a real impact guy with kids and a real hometown hero. Definitely one of mine."