By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor

Mark Perry has basically led a nomadic life during his wrestling career.

            It started in Stillwater, Okla., where he grew up as the nephew of Oklahoma State great John Smith. But one year into his high school years, Perry moved to Blairstown, N.J., where he spent three years studying life and competing at the high-profile Blair Academy.

            When it came to college, instead of returning home to compete for the Cowboy family he grew up in, Perry chose to attend one of Oklahoma State’s greatest rivals: the Iowa Hawkeyes.

            “I’m really independent,” said Perry, whose father, Mark, competed for Oklahoma State, and mother, Cathy, is the sister of the OSU coach. “I like to experience things and try to grow as a person without people being there for me. I’ve met a lot of role models in my life before that.  I’m independent and like to make my own path.”

            Unfortunately, that path was not an easy one even though he found himself in the NCAA finals as a redshirt freshman in 2005. He lost that match to Oklahoma State’s Johny Hendricks, who had uncle John in his corner. That would be followed by two more years of bittersweet memories, including a third-place finish at 174 pounds in 2006 and a coaching change at Iowa where Tom Brands replaced Jim Zalesky. There would also be a myriad of injuries to his neck and knee, which locked up at times.

            Under Brands’ eye and intensity, the laid-back Perry found the going rough at times where the coach and wrestler were like oil and water. But eventually there was an understanding by Perry, who finally reached the promise land in 2007 when he defeated his nemesis Hendricks for the 165-pound championship.

            Within the first two weeks of the 2007-08 campaign, the chance at the 2008 Dan Hodge Trophy and an undefeated season had all but ended when he lost by disqualification to Old Dominion’s unheralded Chris Brown. Then one week after winning the Midlands, he lost again in front of his uncle John when Oklahoma State’s Jake Dieffenbach defeated Perry in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

            That setback motivated Perry to win all his matches at the NWCA National Duals in mid-January, when he also defeated his top three rivals for the No. 1 spot at 165 pounds, including Michigan’s Eric Tannenbaum. Unfortunately, those duals would be the last of his career as he underwent surgery to repair his knee. He returned to compete at the Big Tens, where he lost in the finals to Tannenbaum, thus adding more skepticism to some wrestling community doubters.

            Yet, Perry still made it to the NCAA finals in a year when the three other returning champions — Nebraska’s Paul Donahoe (125), Edinboro’s Gregor Gillespie (157) and American’s Josh Glenn (197) — all lost.

            And just when it looked like Perry might finally end his career on an easy note midway through the second period of the 165-pound final when he was beating Tannenbaum, 4-0, Perry heard something pop when he got in a scramble with the Wolverine.

            “I felt really good out there, the best I’ve ever felt for a national finals and was about to go up 5-0 or 6-0 with riding time,” Perry said. “I don’t know if I’m getting too old or what, but my knee popped and hurt worst than the first time I popped it.”

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