Edward “Mac” Test, ’88 • Track & Field
Edward “Mac” Test was one of the most decorated track athletes in Carleton history, soaring to great heights in both the long jump and high jump on Carleton’s track and field teams of the late 1980s. He was a six-time All-American and was the MIAC champion in both the high jump and the long jump on multiple occasions. Test still holds outdoor school records in the high jump, long jump and triple jump as well as two indoor school records in the high jump and long jump.
Perhaps Test’s finest moment as a Carleton athlete came at the 1988 NCAA Division III National Championships, held at Carleton’s Laird Stadium. The Knights finished seventh in the nation at that meet, due in no small part to Test, who finished fourth in the high jump and was runner-up in the long jump. As the long jump was the last event of the championships, the entire crowd gathered around the jumping area to cheer on Test, who remembers the moment vividly: “I was out-jumping everyone, but scratching virtually every time. On my last jump I took the lead with one jumper remaining. Then that guy had the gall to out-jump me by two centimeters- and on my home turf!”
Robert Buis, ’55 • Basketball
Bob Buis was quite simply the finest pure shooter to ever play basketball for the Knights, at least according to the magical statistical line he generated for the 1952-53 season. That year, Buis was the most accurate shooter among all small-college basketball players; he finished first in the nation with a field-goal percentage of 60.6 percent, hitting 149 of 246 shots. He was also ninth in the nation that year in free throw percentage, connecting at an 80.5 percent clip. The following year, he enjoyed similar success; four games into the season he was connecting on 63.6 percent of his shots. Because Buis was a transfer student from Hamline University, he was limited to two seasons in a Carleton uniform, but he still managed to shatter a Carleton scoring record with 422 points during the 1952-53 season. In an article from the Minneapolis Morning Tribune from December of 1953, Buis was described by then-coach (and Carleton Hall of Fame member) Mel Taube as having “an uncanny knack for getting into position where he can take a pass and score easily.” Carleton’s 1952-53 squad captured the Midwest Conference championship, and finished fourth in the nation in team field-goal percentage, hitting 393 of 876 shots (44.9 percent). The following season, the team opened with a road win over a powerful Drake squad, behind 18 points from Buis. A newspaper account of the game wrote the following: “Bob Buis doesn’t look much like a basketball star- but he is one.”
Richard Garbisch, ’38 • Swimming
Dick Garbisch not only set school records and won conference championships as a swimmer on the powerhouse Carleton men’s swimming teams of 1936, 1937 and 1938, but also served as a two-year captain and as the official coach his senior season. The 1938 Algol had high praise for Garbisch and the “mermen” of Carleton: “The 1938 swimming team under the guidance of coach and captain Dick Garbisch was, without a doubt, the best Carleton team ever to splash in Sayles Hill Pool.” The “Maizemen” (Knights) won their third straight Midwest Conference title that season, and only lost to teams from the Big 10 (Minnesota and Wisconsin) and Big Six conference champion Iowa State. Garbisch was a main reason for Carleton’s success; he broke conference records in the 220 and 440-yard freestyle events, and swam on medley and relay teams that likewise shattered marks. Garbisch also captured three first place medals at the conference meet, and won two races against the University of Wisconsin. He also competed at the national championships, where he distinguished himself: “Can’t remember where I placed there so it probably was down around seventh or eighth.” During the 1936-37 season, Garbisch was responsible for 138.5 of Carleton’s 557.5 total points, and set conference marks in the 200 and 100-yard freestyle events.
After graduation, Garbisch married Marjorie Crabb ’39, who happened to be the editor of the Algol during Dick’s senior season. As Dick put it in a recent letter: “The big double-page spread in the ’38 Algol was one of the benefits of going with the editor!” Garbisch spent his professional career as the owner of Maple Dale Hatchery, a vast chicken hatchery that his father established in the 1920s. Dick and Marjorie, who passed away Sept. 21, 1998, have remained in close contact with Carleton, with Marjorie serving on the Board of Trustees. All four of their children and four grandchildren are Carleton alumni.