Cy Wainwright was named as the second head wrestling coach in Newberry College history in May 2016.
During the 2019-20 season, his fourth, the Wolves won their second consecutive South Atlantic Carolinas Conference championship, finishing the season with a 7-3 overall record, with a 6-1 mark in conference matches. They finished the season on a six-match win streak, including home wins over Coker (26-18) and Mount Olive (55-0). At the Super Region 2 Championships, the Wolves had five wrestlers place, led by Isiah Royal (141), ZeBrandon Gant (184) and Nick Weldon (285), all of whom went undefeated and took first place in their weight classes. Damien Penichet placed fourth in his weight class, earning a trip to the NCAA D2 national championships. As a team, the Wolves racked up 89.5 team points, finishing in fourth place. The Wolves never got a chance to compete at the national championships, which were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Royal and Gant would end up being named NWCA All-Americans.
In his third season at the helm, Wainwright and his team continued to dominate the opposition. The Wolves won the inaugural South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championships with an exciting 19-17 win over Limestone in the regular season finale to go 6-0 in conference action. From their, Wainwright and his team went on to capture the Super Region 2 Championship title after having seven wrestlers qualify for the National Championships including Timmy Martinez (133), Isiah Royal (141), Austin Palmer (157), Nick Giantono (165), ZeBrandon Gant (184) and Patton Gossett (285). Palmer and Gossett earned All-American status with seventh-place finishes. Royal advanced the the championship match and finished as the National Runner-Up. The Wolves finished in ninth-place in the team race.
Wainwright was also rewarded the 2019 National Wresting Coaches Association DII Super Region 2 Coach of the Year. Wainwright was also recognized by his peers and was voted the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year. Wainwright had lead the team to their fourth conference title along with having six wrestlers earning All-Conference nods with four making first team and two making second team.
In his second season, Wainwright and his team had yet another successful year. The Wolves acquired the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship, ending the season with 5-1 record in league duals. Nolan Whitely earned All-American honors with a seventh-place finish nationally at 133 pounds. Newberry also saw Austin Neal (125), Isiah Royal (141) and Austin Palmer (157) advance to compete in the Division II Wrestling Championships. The Wolves would finish the 2017-18 season ranked 16th in the nation.
Has was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading Newberry to its third consecutive conference title. Newberry also had six all-league selections, placing three wrestlers on the first team and three on the second team.
Wainwright's first season at the helm was a successful one, leading the Wolves to an Eastern College Athletic Conference championship at 5-1 in league duals. Trung Duong earned All-American status with a fifth-place finish nationally at 125 pounds, while Huston Evans (174) and Cody Brundage (197) also advanced to compete in the Division II Wrestling Championships.
In all, five Wolves were named all-ECAC, with Duong earning first-team honors, and three wrestlers were named to All-Academic Teams. Wainwright also earned a four-year appointment to the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee in April 2017, becoming one of just two Division II wrestling coaches to serve on the committee.
Wainwright had been the head wrestling coach at Coker College for the last three seasons and was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Wrestling League Coach of the Year for the 2015-16 season. He coached the Cobras’ first-ever All-American in 2016.
Wainwright is the only undefeated national champion in Newberry College history, and his dominant run in his three years in a scarlet and gray singlet will be tough to approach. The Green Cove Spring, Fla., native went an impressive 36-0 in the 2008-09 season with 14 pins, winning the heavyweight national championship just minutes after Keeno Griffin. The three-time national qualifier also earned All-American honors in 2008 with a third place finish.
At the time of his graduation in 2009, Wainwright was the school’s all-time wins leader with 128 victories, all-time falls leader with 33 and all-time major decisions leader with 17.
Following his graduation from Newberry, Wainwright entered the collegiate coaching ranks. He earned his master’s degree at St. Cloud State and was named the first head coach at Benedictine (Kan.) before starting the program at Coker.
The 2015-16 season was a big year for the Coker wrestling program, as the team became part of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and finished second in the conference in its first season of affiliation. Wainwright led the Cobras to a 14-3 overall record with a 4-2 ECAC mark. Five Cobras were named to All-Academic teams and the Cobras finished with a 3.149 team grade point average, 18th-best among Division II wrestling teams nationally. Wainwright was also named ECAC Coach of the Year, with five wrestlers earning All-ECAC honors.
During his second season at the helm of the Cobras, Wainwright led the team to a 14-5 record in dual matches, appeared in the Top 5 in the Super Region II polls for three weeks, was twice ranked in the national polls and won the Coker College Coach of the Year award. In his first year leading the Cobras, Wainwright led the team to a record of 10-7 in dual matches in the program’s first season of competition.
Wainwright has coached 41 NCAA Division II national qualifiers, 19 All-Americans, three national finalists and one NCAA Division II National Champion. He has also coached three top 10 NCAA teams and a national runner-up team in 2011.
