Class of 2006
Although Rich Testa may have weighed the least, his
accomplishments were perhaps the most for his team. Rich was a
two-time participant at the NCAA Wrestling championships. He earned
the pair of spots at 118 pounds after winning the New England
championship as a junior in 1983 and placing second one year later.
He also earned another All-New England honor, in 1982, when he
placed sixth in the New England championships despite suffering a
broken ankle in his first match of the tournament.
"He started every match with a spark," comments Hall of Fame
head coach Phil Grebinar. "It was like a baseball manager filling
out his lineup with a superstar at the lead-off spot. He gave us
the ability to be up by a pin every time he hit the mat."
Rich started his collegiate career by registering wins by pin in
four of his five victories. As a sophomore, he went 10-3 with five
pins and improved to 11-1 a season later with six pins and a
second-best 61 points. As a senior, he went a career-best 18-1 with
11 pins, while collecting a team-high 11 pins and 103 points. In
his four years, he went 44-9 in dual meets for an .830 winning
percentage.
The Academic All-American is still tied for first at WPI in pins
in a season (11 in 1983-84) and dual points in a season (103 in
1983-84). He is all-time second in dual meet pins (26), third in
dual meet pin percentage (.491) and fourth in dual meet points
(250). He is among the leaders in several other categories,
including most pins in under 1:00 (4th with 4) and highest pin
percentage (4th with 26 pins in 53 matches for 49.1%).
"Rich was unselfish and a great leader on teams that brought the
winning tradition to a new level," says Grebinar. "He was respected
and well-liked, not just on the team and in the athletic
department, but campus-wide."
A 1980 graduate at Wayland High, Rich Testa was the state
champion his senior year and third in New England at 128 pounds as
the team captain. He won the Outstanding Wrestler Award of the
State Tournament. He also finished fourth in the Massachusetts
All-State Meet as a sophomore in high school. He ran the Boston
Marathon in 2002, clocking in at just over 4 hours, 7 minutes.
