Wayne Griffin ’90, ’92 was an outstanding wrestler at Rhode Island College from 1984-88.
During each of his four years on the mat, the Coventry, R.I. native earned All-New England honors at 190 lbs. At the conclusion of his career, he was one of only three RIC wrestlers to have accomplished that feat. Griffin earned a fifth place finish as a freshman in 1985, a pair of third place finishes during his sophomore and junior campaigns (’86, ’87) and placed second as a senior in 1988.
He served as a team captain and helped the Anchormen capture the 1988 New England College Conference Wrestling Association (NECCWA) Championship for the first time in program history. Griffin received the John E. Hetherman Award, signifying him as RIC’s top senior male student-athlete in 1988.
Griffin was also selected as a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-American, the first in program history.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial education from Rhode Island College in 1990 and a second bachelor’s degree in secondary education (industrial arts) from RIC in 1992.
Griffin has been an engineering technology teacher in the North Attleboro (Mass.) middle school system since 1994.
He recently concluded an extremely successful career as an interscholastic wrestling coach.
Griffin spent nine years as the Head Boys’ Varsity Wrestling Coach at Barrington High School where he had four wrestlers capture Rhode Island State Championships. He coached one New England Champion and the Eagles finished second in the R.I. Sectionals during his last few years with the program. He was selected as "Man of the Year" for USA Wrestling (Rhode Island Chapter) in 1996. He was one of a group of coaches who started the Academic All-State program while working in the Ocean State.
Griffin joined the North Attleboro (Mass.) High Wrestling program as the head coach in 1997. He guided the Rocketeers to unprecedented success over a 21-year tenure. NAHS won Massachusetts State Wrestling Championship in both 2016 and 2018. They also finished second in the state on two occasions (1998 and 2008). North Wrestling was a consistent top-ranked team throughout his career in Massachusetts.
He led North Attleboro H.S. to 16 Hockomock League Regular Season and/or Tournament titles. Under his tutelage, Griffin coached 69 Sectional Champions, 34 All-State place-finishers, six Mass. Div. II State Champions, 19 Mass. Div. II State Finalists and eight New England place-finishers. His career dual meet record stands at 408-143-6. He also co-found the Kryptonite Wrestling Club.
One accolade he is most proud of is the team’s 17-year string of MIAA Academic Excellence Awards earned during his tenure.
Among a host of individual accolades, Griffin was named the
Boston Globe’s Coach of the Year twice (2007, ’16), the MIAA Coach of the Year (2013) and was a multiple-time recipient of the MIWCA Div. II South Coach of the Year award. He was the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Massachusetts Chapter) public school Coach of the Year (George Bossi Award) award recipient in 2016. He's also a member of the Rhode Island Wrestling Hall of Fame (2014). Several members of his coaching staff at North Attleboro have also been recognized for their contributions to the sport of wrestling.
He served as a regional coaching representative for many years and hosted a multitude of RIIL & MIAA postseason tournaments. He has been an active and involved teacher at North Attleboro Middle School, working with Destination Imagination and Heritage Day events and directs the intra-school TV studio.
