“We’re a small club,” said Wainwright. “We’re a small school, so we have that family bond, you know, so it really helps us push each other more like a brother would than just a teammate.”“It’s a long history here,” said Brandon Wainwright. “You know, my dad was was running the kids program when I was […]
“We’re a small club,” said Wainwright. “We’re a small school, so we have that family bond, you know, so it really helps us push each other more like a brother would than just a teammate.”“It’s a long history here,” said Brandon Wainwright. “You know, my dad was was running the kids program when I was here, and he graduated in 69 and I graduated in 89 so it wasn’t all that distant. I remember his coach, and so there’s things that he taught that Dean’s still using today.”Wainwright hopes to win another state title. “It means a lot,” said Dean Wainwright. “I mean, you know, generations here, my sister came here, she wrestled here. We’re long time friends with the coaches outside of wrestling. It’s more of a family.”The sport is in his blood with three generations going through Riverdale’s wrestling program.Dean Wainwright is a junior for the rams and won a state title his freshman year. Riverdale wrestling holds a special place in the Wainwright family.“My dad, he’ll get up in the mornings with me,” said Dean Wainwright. “He’ll work out with me. We’ll go in our room. We’ll wrestle a little bit again. He pushes me in the room. I see his name up there, and my grandpa showed him everything he knows, and pass it down to me.”“You see a kid of that age, like plan it and do it on purpose, it’s pretty cool,” said Brandon Wainwright. “It takes a lot.”“The age of four,” said Brandon Wainwright, Dean’s dad. “It’s like his 14th season or something, and he’s 17 years old. He doesn’t know any better. Yeah, if he’s not wrestling year round, I mean, something’s wrong if he doesn’t wrestle for a couple of weeks.”Copyright 2025 KWQC. All rights reserved.PORT BYRON, Ill (KWQC) – Riverdale is known for its greatness on the wrestling mat and a family has been tied to the program for decades. His passion for wrestling developed at a young age.
