Jeff Horowitz showed up at WPI in the fall of 1981 with a mohawk
haircut. His wrestling coach, Hall of Famer Phil Grebinar, told
him, “You better be good if you are going to walk around like
that.” Three All-New England honors, including a
championship, proves he was more than good enough.
Horowitz wasted no time making a name for himself in the New
England wrestling circuit. On a talented 1982 team, he earned a
spot to wrestle at the New England Championships and delivered with
a third-place finish.
After an injury curtailed a promising sophomore campaign (8-1-1
dual meet record), he came back with vengeance in 1984 and posted a
record of 14-4-1 at 142 lbs. with a career-best eight pins. At the
New England championships, he collected a second-place
showing.
Jeff simply dazzled as a senior co-captain during the 1984-85
season. He registered a 16-1-1 mark in dual meets and won the 1985
New England championship at the 142-lb. weight class, a class that
featured four former or future champions. One of his greatest
accomplishments was defeating an eventual Greco-Roman Olympic
medalist twice that season, pinning him during the Bay State
Games.
As a team, the Crimson and Gray won their first-ever New England
title and Horowitz was one of four WPI wrestlers to qualify for the
1985 NCAA Championships. His 85 team points that season tied him
for eighth all-time in program history.
Classmates and Hall of Famers Paul Wyman and Rich Testa agree
that Jeff knew more about wrestling than most of us forgot.
“He was a master at knowing just what to do in almost any
situation to finish a move to score,”they claim. “He
had this uncanny ability to score from counter situations after
defending an offensive attack. He was the most
‘complete’ wrestler of us all. He was proficient from
any position—from the neutral, top, or bottom position, Jeff
could score big points.
Horowitz finished his standout career with a 43-10-3 overall
dual-meet record, including 18 career pins, with three occurring in
under a minute. He also was a standout in the classroom, earning
National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-America
honors.
“Jeff arrived at WPI with as good skills and technique as
any previous WPI wrestler,” says Phil Grebinar. “He was
dominant in his weight class for WPI, beating outstanding
competitors, including one wrestler who ended up with an Olympic
bronze Greco-Roman medal. A real team guy, Jeff was a great leader
who led by example, and a great ability to keep our team
loose.”
A native of Commack, N.Y., Jeff graduated with a BS in
management engineering. He is a nationally known financial planner
and principal of Horowitz Associates in San Francisco. Many of his
clients are prominent owners and CEOs whose companies are listed on
the NYSE, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Index. After establishing his
practice in 1989, he was nominated to appear in Worth
magazine’s list of Top 100 Wealth Advisors in the U.S.
