Steve Mytych was named Keystone College’s head wrestling coach in April 2016 to lead the Giants as the program was reintroduced as an NCAA varsity sport for the 2016-17 season. He has already taken major steps to return Keystone’s wrestling program to the national prominence it enjoyed in the 1960s through the 1980s.
Mytych led Keystone to an 8-16 overall record in the team's first year of competition at the NCAA Division III level during the 2016-17 season. On short order, Mytych recruited a full team and led the Giants to their first victory on November 12 against Mount Saint Vincent College, 31-22. During the year, Mytych helped mentor one wrestling to a top-ten regional ranking during the regular season and the Giants' totaled 89 individual victories on the year.
In his second season, in 2017-2018, Mytych landed a pair of freshmen who solidify the lineup in the lower weight classes. Colby Bronzburg recorded an 18-9 record in the 125-pound weight class and Paul Miller won a team-leading 20 matches, a majority of which came in the 133-pound weight class. And even though the roster was depleted by injuries, the Giants still managed to post four wins in dual-meet competition and picked up valuable experience by participating in the NCAA Mideast regional at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.
Mytych brings an extensive and accomplished wrestling background to Keystone, both as a competitor and as a coach. A four-year NCAA Division I national qualifier for Drexel University, he became the Dragons’ all-time leader in wins with 137 during his career there from 2005-2010. He went on to represent Team USA on the Olympic Freestyle Circuit, where he was crowned the University Freestyle National Champion in 2011.
Mytych has carried over his success on the mat to the sidelines, having led programs for the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club Athlete – Olympic Circuit and for Pennsylvania Wrestling while also serving as an assistant coach a Bloomsburg University. Prior to taking over the helm of Keystone’s program, Mytych was also an assistant coach for the wrestling team at Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School where he was also the head strength and conditioning coach and the head girls’ softball coach.
Mytych has also coached at numerous camps and clinics throughout the region including the Bloomsburg University Team Camp and the Ken Chertow Camps and Clinics while also serving as a clinician at the Naval Academy Wrestling Camps in Annapolis, Maryland and the Wyoming Seminary Futures Wrestling Camps.
Mytych’s illustrious career at Drexel began with Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 as he became the first Dragons’ wrestler to earn the award. A three-year team captain at Drexel, Mytych collected the most major decision in NCAA wrestling in 2008 with 15 on the season. In 2010, he won the CAA Championship and was named the Team MVP to go along with his second Wilkes Open Championship while being named the Wilkes Open Outstanding Wrestler. Mytych posted numerous top-five finishes competing against the top wrestlers in the country at various tournaments and finished in the U.S. Open Top 12 in 2010 and 2011.
Mytych continued his wrestling career on the Olympic Freestyle Circuit, finishing fourth at the World Team Trials in 2013. He also represented Team USA on tours to Russia and Cuba that same year and finished fourth at the Sunkist International Open and seventh at the U.S. Open. Mytych twice attended the U.S. National Team Training Camp and also scored a trio of impressive third place finishes including at the 2010 University Freestyle Nationals as well as in the 2009 University Greco Nationals and the 2009 NE Regionals Freestyle.
A native of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mytych starting wrestling at Wyoming Valley West High School before moving to Northampton High School where he grappled for a school that was the top ranked public high school in the country in 2004. He was a four-time PIAA state qualifier from 2002-2005, placing eighth in 2003 and 4th in 2004. Mytych was the NE Regional Champion in 2005 after finishing as the regional runner-up the previous three seasons. The holder of 139 scholastic wins, he also was a two-time District XI champion.
Mytych, who also serves as Keystone's compliance coordinator and handles transfers, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Drexel in 2010. Mytych was inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame in August 2018.
Coaching Record at Keystone
2016-17 8-16 (19th place at NCAA Regionals)
2017-18 4-16 (16th place at NCAA Regionals)
2 seasons 12-32 (.273)
