Joel Skillings is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the SMSU wrestling program in 2022-23.
Skillings came to SMSU after a successful head coaching career at Minneota High School from 1988-2019 where his teams finished with a dual record of 559-197-4. He led the Vikings to the 2015 Class A state championship, while earning third place finishes in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The squad placed fourth in both 1996 and 2016.
He was named the 2015 Minnesota State Wrestling Coach of the Year and was the Class A Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2015.
Skillings is a member of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2021) and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Minnesota Chapter (2022).
Skillings, who was also head football coach at Minneota from 1994-2002, is a 1984 graduate of MSU Moorhead. He was a physical education teacher at Minneota Public School since 1991.
