Brad Hildebrandt retiring after amazing run that produced 17 state titles at Omaha Skutt Catholic
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Brad Hildebrandt, architect of one of best dynasties in Nebraska high school sports history, is retiring after 22 seasons as the head wrestling coach at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School.
Hildebrandt, 50, guided Skutt Catholic to a record 17 Class B state tournament championships.
Hildebrandt goes out on top as his final team captured state tournament and state dual titles in 2015. The SkyHawks won all three Class B state dual titles after the event was started in 2013.
He coached 63 individual state champions and 141 state placewinners in 22 seasons at Skutt Catholic.
Hildebrandt, along with close friend and fellow Nebraska-Omaha All-American teammate R.J. Nebe, started the wrestling program the same year Skutt Catholic opened its doors in 1993.
The team experienced some early struggles, going a combined 0-24 and being pinned 24 times in one of its first competitions. The first Skutt Catholic team finished its inaugural season with just three wrestlers on its roster.
By the fifth year, Skutt Catholic was rolling as the SkyHawks earned their first state title and started an amazing run of 13 consecutive state championships.
After placing second to Central City in 2011, Skutt Catholic came back the next year to start its current run of four consecutive state titles.
Hildebrandt and Nebe worked closely together for the program's first 13 seasons, which produced the initial eight state titles at Skutt.
“I have been blessed with many great memories, relationships and successes,” Hildebrandt said. “I have witnessed many unbelievable acts of competitive greatness and endured some heart-wrenching sadness. I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment and support of the tremendous program we all shared in building.
“I owe too many people a debt of thanks to mention. I will thank my wonderful wife and children for allowing me to fulfill my dream and passion of coaching young men. In addition, I want to thank R.J. Nebe for his partnership and friendship as we laid the foundation for the unmatched success of Skutt Catholic wrestling. I will miss many aspects of the program and what it represents, but I feel it is time for me to have the flexibility to spend more time with my family and slow the pace of my life.”
Skutt set and re-set the Class B state scoring record several times under Hildebrandt while seeing four of its wrestlers – Kasey Kohl, Todd Meneely, Tyler Sackett and Thomas Gilman – join Nebraska's exclusive club of four-time state champions.
The SkyHawks scored a whopping 256 points at the 2008 state tournament, which remains the all-class state record in Nebraska.
Meneely was a USA Wrestling Junior Nationals champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He also made a U.S. Cadet World Team before capturing three NCAA Division II titles for Nebraska-Omaha. He qualified for and competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Gilman won USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals titles in addition to making two U.S. Junior World Teams and a U.S. Cadet World Team. Gilman won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2014 Junior World Championships before placing fourth at the 2015 NCAA Division I Championships for the University of Iowa.
Sackett was a starter at the Division I level for Navy, and Kohl competed for Nebraska-Omaha.
Hildebrandt has had several other wrestlers go on to earn All-American honors at the Division II and NAIA levels. Two-time Skutt state champion Mitch Waite was an NCAA Division II runner-up for Nebraska-Omaha and three-time Skutt state champion Matt Katusin was an NAIA runner-up for Midland (Neb.) University.
Past Skutt Catholic wrestler Matt Farrell was a two-time Division II All-American for Nebraska-Kearney and Skutt state champion Steve Conlin was an All-American at Nebraska-Omaha.
Hildebrandt is a member of the Nebraska-Omaha Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named the 2005 Omaha World-Herald Coach of the Year and the 2009 Wrestling USA Magazine National Coach of the Year.
Hildebrandt recently retired after a long tenure with the Omaha Fire Department, where he held the rank of Captain.
Hildebrandt, a native of Griswold, Iowa, leaves the Skutt Catholic program with a strong nucleus of wrestlers returning from his final state championship team.
“Many of you will have questions about the future of the program,” Hildebrandt said. “A successor has been chosen and his name will be released in the next few days. The current staff will be retained to ensure a smooth transition, and I am more than confident that the ideals of Skutt Catholic wrestling will continue with the collaboration of the parties involved.”
Hildebrandt, 50, guided Skutt Catholic to a record 17 Class B state tournament championships.
Hildebrandt goes out on top as his final team captured state tournament and state dual titles in 2015. The SkyHawks won all three Class B state dual titles after the event was started in 2013.
He coached 63 individual state champions and 141 state placewinners in 22 seasons at Skutt Catholic.
Hildebrandt, along with close friend and fellow Nebraska-Omaha All-American teammate R.J. Nebe, started the wrestling program the same year Skutt Catholic opened its doors in 1993.
The team experienced some early struggles, going a combined 0-24 and being pinned 24 times in one of its first competitions. The first Skutt Catholic team finished its inaugural season with just three wrestlers on its roster.
By the fifth year, Skutt Catholic was rolling as the SkyHawks earned their first state title and started an amazing run of 13 consecutive state championships.
After placing second to Central City in 2011, Skutt Catholic came back the next year to start its current run of four consecutive state titles.
Hildebrandt and Nebe worked closely together for the program's first 13 seasons, which produced the initial eight state titles at Skutt.
“I have been blessed with many great memories, relationships and successes,” Hildebrandt said. “I have witnessed many unbelievable acts of competitive greatness and endured some heart-wrenching sadness. I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment and support of the tremendous program we all shared in building.
“I owe too many people a debt of thanks to mention. I will thank my wonderful wife and children for allowing me to fulfill my dream and passion of coaching young men. In addition, I want to thank R.J. Nebe for his partnership and friendship as we laid the foundation for the unmatched success of Skutt Catholic wrestling. I will miss many aspects of the program and what it represents, but I feel it is time for me to have the flexibility to spend more time with my family and slow the pace of my life.”
Skutt set and re-set the Class B state scoring record several times under Hildebrandt while seeing four of its wrestlers – Kasey Kohl, Todd Meneely, Tyler Sackett and Thomas Gilman – join Nebraska's exclusive club of four-time state champions.
The SkyHawks scored a whopping 256 points at the 2008 state tournament, which remains the all-class state record in Nebraska.
Meneely was a USA Wrestling Junior Nationals champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He also made a U.S. Cadet World Team before capturing three NCAA Division II titles for Nebraska-Omaha. He qualified for and competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Gilman won USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals titles in addition to making two U.S. Junior World Teams and a U.S. Cadet World Team. Gilman won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2014 Junior World Championships before placing fourth at the 2015 NCAA Division I Championships for the University of Iowa.
Sackett was a starter at the Division I level for Navy, and Kohl competed for Nebraska-Omaha.
Hildebrandt has had several other wrestlers go on to earn All-American honors at the Division II and NAIA levels. Two-time Skutt state champion Mitch Waite was an NCAA Division II runner-up for Nebraska-Omaha and three-time Skutt state champion Matt Katusin was an NAIA runner-up for Midland (Neb.) University.
Past Skutt Catholic wrestler Matt Farrell was a two-time Division II All-American for Nebraska-Kearney and Skutt state champion Steve Conlin was an All-American at Nebraska-Omaha.
Hildebrandt is a member of the Nebraska-Omaha Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named the 2005 Omaha World-Herald Coach of the Year and the 2009 Wrestling USA Magazine National Coach of the Year.
Hildebrandt recently retired after a long tenure with the Omaha Fire Department, where he held the rank of Captain.
Hildebrandt, a native of Griswold, Iowa, leaves the Skutt Catholic program with a strong nucleus of wrestlers returning from his final state championship team.
“Many of you will have questions about the future of the program,” Hildebrandt said. “A successor has been chosen and his name will be released in the next few days. The current staff will be retained to ensure a smooth transition, and I am more than confident that the ideals of Skutt Catholic wrestling will continue with the collaboration of the parties involved.”
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