Publications & Sites 
Retirement party set for Libertyville’s Eggert, Kuceyeski
Libertyville High School is losing a pair of coaching legends with the retirements of wrestling coach Dale Eggert (above) and football coach Randy Kuceyeski (left). | SUN-TIMES MEDIA FILE PHOTO
Article Extras
Updated: June 5, 2012 3:02PM
A pair of coaching legends at Libertyville High School will be sent off into retirement with a party honoring them on Wednesday night.
Calling it a career are Wildcat wrestling coach Dale Eggert (33 years with the program, including the last 24 as head coach) and football coach Randy Kuceyeski (18 years as head coach after serving as an assistant).
The celebration will be at 6 o’clock at Mickey Finns Brewery, which is located on Route 21 in the heart of Libertyville. The $20 fee includes pizza, wins and pop.
The event is for everyone who wants to honor Dale and Randy, and not just for Libertyville people.
If you’re coming, contact Libertyville High School athletic director Brian Kelly at briant.kelly@d128.org so that Mickey Finns can have a food count.
Eggert took over for longtime coach Bob Billberg for the 1988 season and the program has been at the top of Lake County throughout his tenure.
Eggert also gained state recognition in the 1990s when girl wrestlers showed up in his program.
The coach actually was a Libertyville High School graduate and was a standout wrestler as a prep. Even as an adult, he continued to compete on the mat at the prestigious Midlands tournament, held each December at Northwestern University in Evanston.
Margaret LeGates was the first girl wrestler on a high-school team in Illinois in 1992, and Mandy Thompson was the first girl wrestler in the state to qualify for a sectional.
Kuceyeski’s football teams qualified for the playoffs 14 times in his 18 years, and the Cats won the state title in 2004.
He was diagnosed with a form of mouth cancer before the 2011 season, but not only battled the illness into remission, but coached the overachieving Wildcats to the playoffs in his final season at the helm.
