Names in the News: L-W East Athletic Director Leaves Behind Legacy He Helped Build

When Lincoln-Way East first opened its doors, athletic director Dave Brost set out to assemble a championship team. He is retiring this month after spending 13 years on the job and helping put the Griffins on the Illinois athletic map.

After 13 years with Lincoln-Way East, Athletic Director Dave Brost will step away down from his role with the department. Brost, 62, is retiring in May after working for 19 years as an athletic director, the last 13 at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort. During that time, he has guided one of the most successful and most diverse athletic programs in Illinois. East has won four state championships during his tenure and captured eight first- or second-place trophies in IHSA state tournament competitions. Brost wrote a book on the Griffins’ softball championship season. It’s titled, We Can Do This. He also is the author of Poetry in Motion—a book of his own poems. His interest in writing ranks second only to his interest in the welfare…

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L-W East Athletic Director Brost Leaves Indelible Footprint in the Sand

When Lincoln-Way East first opened its doors, athletic director Dave Brost set out to assemble a championship team. He is retiring this month after spending 13 years on the job and helping put the Griffins on the Illinois athletic map.

Dave Brost didn’t write the book on how to be a successful high school athletic director. He learned the job as he went along. Brost, 62, is retiring in May after working for 19 years as an athletic director, the last 13 at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort. During that time, he has guided one of the most successful and most diverse athletic programs in Illinois. East has won four state championships during his tenure and captured eight first- or second-place trophies in IHSA state tournament competitions. The Griffins have gone from a what—what’s a Griffin? Answer: A mythological creature with the head of an eagle the body of a lion.  To a who: East teams have become fixtures at the top of many state-wide polls since then-coach …

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Hickory Creek's Rigoni Named Honorary Chairman of Medieval Classic

Greg Rigoni, a teacher and coach at Hickory Creek School, will attend games and hand out trophies on the final day in his role at honorary chairman of the Medieval Classic.

Greg Rigoni, who has more than three decades of coaching and teaching experience in the Lincoln-Way area, was picked to chair Lincoln-Way's annual Medieval Classic. The boys and girls basketball tournament will be played Dec. 26-29 at Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North high schools. "Greg is someone our community should know," Lincoln-Way East athletic director Dave Brost said. "He attends our football games, our basketball games, our soccer matches. He's a Lincoln-Way guy who is dedicated to his community. Who better to serve as an Honorary Tournament Chair than someone who has served all those years." The roster of teams in this year's field: Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way North, Lincoln-Way West, Joliet Catholic …

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LW-West Football Coach Will be Next AD at East

Mark Vander Kooi, a three-year coach at Lincoln-Way West, will succeed Dave Brost as athletic director at Lincoln-Way East.

Gimme 5: L-W East's Brost is the Man With The Most

Griffins athletic director Dave Brost enjoys a stellar spring sports season in Frankfort, hopes to catch his breath before football season comes around again.

It started with the Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics team winning a state title. The girls track and field team followed by taking second place at the Class 3A state meet. Then, it was the baseball team. Lincoln-Way East played the role of a Cinderella, beating favored Lincoln-Way North in the sectional semifinals and then taking care of a Sandburg team that had defeated the Griffins twice in the regular season. The Griffins season finally came to an end in the Crestwood Supersectional. And there were other sports teams, too, at East that excelled, namely the boys tennis team, which once again dominated conference and sent most of the team to the state finals. Yes, life was good for the athletic director of this school. Dave Brost has …

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Championship Team: L-W East Sports Boosters Carry the Load

The Lincoln-Way East sports boosters have supported, promoted and encouraged athletics programs for nearly 25 years thanks to the tireless efforts of its members.

Orville Redenbacher would be very proud. It was during a break in a freshman girls volleyball game. Dave Brost was jonesing for popcorn. He wasn't the athletic director at Lincoln-Way East back then; he was a parent cheering on his oldest daughter. "I went to the hallway to get a bag of popcorn and there were no concessions," Brost said. "I figured, 'What the heck is this?' So, I found this guy, Tom Lewis (former Lincoln-Way athletic director), and he said there was no concession stand. "I asked about boosters, and he said they hadn't had (a boosters organization) in five or six years. I said, 'That's not right.' He asked me if I was interested. I told him I was. My daughter was a freshman, and I was going to live the next four years there…

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Lincoln-Way East Track & Field Celebrates with Parade and Trophy Presentation

After taking second place in the Class 3A girls state meet at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, the Griffins returned home carrying hardware.

It was a whirlwind weekend for the Lincoln-Way East girls track and field team. On Saturday, the Griffins took second place in the Class 3A state meet at O’Brien Stadium in Charleston. Coming home Sunday, the team celebrated with a parade through the streets of Frankfort and Mokena followed by a trophy presentation in the Lincoln-Way East main gym. “For a group of girls, for a school that’s never had a state trophy, this means everything,” Lincoln-Way East athletic director David Brost said. “These girls not only won second in state, but they made memories that will last a lifetime.” The Griffins not only brought home the first girls’ state track and field trophy in school history, they joined six other sports at East to have won a state …

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Hail the Champs: Lincoln-Way Gymnasts Show off Hardware

The Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics team was cheered during a parade and ceremony on Sunday afternoon that started in Manhattan and ended with a trophy presentation at Lincoln-Way East.

There was a moment on Sunday when Skip Adamson had a bit of difficulty remembering Jake Gratkowski’s name. Adamson, the Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics coach, was discussing the nine gymnasts who contributed to Friday’s IHSA state championship, the first for the school since 2006, and blamed his forgetfulness on a four-day sleepless bender. Sleep can come later. Adamson was at Lincoln-Way East on Sunday for a trophy presentation ceremony. He also got a little bit of a roast. Lincoln-Way East athletic director Dave Brost made light of Adamson’s modesty and called him a bus driver. “When you talk to Skip (Adamson) and you reporters know this, this is what he says, ‘All I do is drive the bus. The kids do all the work,’ ” Brost said. “If …

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LW East Athletic Director Adds Title of 'Author' to Resume

Dave Brost finished a book this past summer on the Griffins' 2002 state champion softball team.

On a late September day 10 years ago, the tradition started. Not with huge fanfare, but rather a rippling at the net. The first athletic event ever played at Lincoln-Way East High School was a tennis match. East faced off against Lincoln-Way Central, a district rival from just down the road, on Sept. 23, 2000. The Griffins did not have their own nickname yet — but did have plenty of spirit. They won the match. And, soon afterward, East began to establish itself as a beast to be reckoned with on almost every playing field. In the 10 years to elapse since that humble beginning, East has won nine trophies in state competition, including three state championships. The first state trophy — and first state title — was brought home by the …

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