SANBORN — Keith Maute has kept a team-first approach when coaching.
To him, it’s about helping his wrestlers at Niagara County Community College compete in the arena and prepare for the next step in life, both in and out of the classroom.
And so far, Maute has had a stamp on the program’s record book with 14 All-Americans, including a trio of two-time recipients. Maute also currently has coached three wrestlers inside the top 15 of the program’s all-time wins list, including the overall leader in North Tonawanda resident Troy Keller, who recorded 90 in 2017 and 2018.
With that as his main emphasis, Maute was surprised when he was told he was on the cusp of setting a new mark in state wrestling history.
But Friday turned out to be a moment he wouldn’t forget. With victories against Jamestown Community College and Garrett College, Maute ended Friday with his 100th dual meet wins with the program, becoming the first coach in state wrestling history to record the feat at the high school and collegiate level. Maute accomplished the feat with a career at East Aurora and Iroquois during the 2000s.
“To be honest, I didn’t know about (the record),” Maute said. “It was kind of brought to my attention Thursday. (When coaching), I’m just kind of in it, so, I don’t pay attention to that stuff. But once I heard about it and reflecting (afterwards), I guess it means I’ve been in the game for a while.”
Maute went in viewing Niagara County CC’s dual match as a stepping stone in its quest towards a seventh national title in program history. But once his wrestlers received word, too, accomplishing the feat became a motivation for them, on top of competing for the first time since the SUNY Brockport Duals on Nov. 11.
“It seemed like this was a little more of an incentive for them, that helped them get through the weight cut and then competing as their first time back down in three weeks,” Maute said. “I was a little bit taken by surprise (by) the way they went about it and I could tell that they kind of meant something to them. I don’t know how to explain it. I could sense it.”
After competing for Lancaster High School in the early 1990s under Dennis Beck, Maute began his connection with the Thunderwolves as a wrestler for Eric Knuutila. But, in 1993, Maute broke his neck while wrestling, which caused his focus to shift towards coaching. He first got involved coaching his two younger brothers in the Lancaster youth wrestling program and began helping his alma mater as an assistant in 1997, the start of winning seven consecutive ECIC Division I championships and a second place finish at states.
Then, as a head coach with East Aurora and Iroquois, Maute, a three-time Section VI Coach of the Year recipient, won a combined five ECIC championships and two sectional titles, first in 2008 with East Aurora and then in 2011 in February 2011, months before taking over for his mentor, Knuutila, to become the Thunderwolves’ first head coach in 38 years.
With his wrestlers competing in Sanborn, Maute has built special relationships, with many asking him through the years to be the godfather of their children.
“That’s an honor in itself,” Maute said. “When a boy that comes through and wrestles for me and says they’re gonna have a child and they ask me to be the godparent of their child, I guess that’s what this is all about. And this is why I do it. So, it goes beyond this world of wrestling.”