National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter Vice President Dale Eggert will be inducted into the Midlands Championships Hall of Fame at this year's 59th Annual Midlands Wrestling Championships, to be held at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on December 29-30, 2023.

In 1998, at the age of 42 years, 11 months, Dale Eggert became the oldest unattached competitor to ever compete at the Midlands. Between 1980 and 1998, Dale competed in a total of 14 Midlands Championships, at 126, 134, and 142 pounds. Dale placed only once during that span when the 40 year old beat 2X NCAA finalist Cody Sanderson of Iowa State in the 7th place match in 1996, making him the oldest competitor to place. Since retiring from competition, Dale has been working at the head table at the Midlands or as a matside scorer, when his active head coaching schedule allows.

Dale Eggert is still one of Illinois' top high school coaches. He's coached a total of 45 years, all at Libertyville High School in the northern suburbs of Chicago (the past 36 years as head coach.) His current head coaching dual meet record of 650 wins puts him 4th on the all-time career wins list for head coaches in Illinois.

Dale Eggert was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Service Award in 2015.

The Midlands Championships are hosted annually by Northwestern University and is widely considered the most prestigious non-conference wrestling tournament in the country. It still remains one the very few NCAA regularly scheduled tournaments that allows for wrestlers who've graduated from college to continue to compete against active NCAA wrestlers. Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson both won Midlands titles as a wrestler and coach.

To purchase tickets for this year's Midlands Championships at the NOW Arena, click HERE.