Class of 2025

Eric Roberson,

Roxana/SIU-Edwardsville/Alton

Wrestler/Coach

 

Eric Roberson got his start in wrestling his fifth-grade year at the Roxana Park District and wrestled for coaches Glenn Exton, Don Milletello and Joe Huff in the Roxana kids club.

He wrestled for coach Larry Milazzo at Roxana High School and qualified for the IHSA state tournament three times, placing fourth in Class AA at 138 pounds in 1987, and accumulated 143 wins in his high school career. He was a four-time regional champion, a four-time conference champion and won a sectional title in his junior year at 126 pounds.

After high school, Eric earned a scholarship to wrestle at SIU-Edwardsville, an NCAA D-II national power at that time. He was a four-year starter at 142 pounds and qualified for the national tournament all four years of his career and won over 100 matches at SIUE. Eric was a two-time NCAA D-II All-American, placing fifth in 1991 and fourth in 1992, both times at 142 pounds. He was inducted in the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 as a member of the 1988 NCAA D-II National third-place team.

Eric caught the coaching bug when he was a student assistant coach at SIUE during the 1992-93 season. He then went on to coach at Roxana Junior High for one season, then moved to the assistant role at Roxana High School with his friend and mentor, Mike Kurth. Eric coached at Roxana from 1994-1996, where he helped Tom Riggins win an A title at 189 pounds in 1996.

Eric then left Roxana to restart the wrestling program at Alton High School. The program was dropped in 1982 but he started it back up from scratch in 1996 and has been coaching there ever since. At Alton, he has amassed 390 dual meet wins and has had 21 winning seasons there. Eric has had an individual state tournament qualifier 46 times with 10 of those earning All-State honors, including one state champion, Antonia Phillips, who won the title at 140 pounds in the inaugural IHSA Girls Wrestling State Tournament in 2022.

He has also been a two-time nominee for the IWCOA Class 3A Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018. He has served on the IHSA Wrestling Advisory Board on two separate occasions, in 2015-17 and 2022-24. Eric is currently teaching Honors Anatomy and Physiology and Biology at Alton High School and serves as the Assistant Athletic Director.

Eric would like to thank all of the assistant coaches, present and past administration who have been a key part of his coaching career, and have been very supportive throughout the years. He would especially like to thank his family for providing an outstanding support system and providing him with all of the opportunities to pursue his passion. Eric would like to especially thank his wife Raelene, who has not only married him, but also chose to marry the sport of wrestling, and he appreciates everything she has done to allow him to coach the sport he loves. He will never forget all of the relationships that were formed with his past teammates, coaches and wrestlers.