Mark Perry
Blair Academy
Impact Statement
“If you want to be successful at anything you have to have a deep, deep passion for what you’re doing. You can’t be halfway in, halfway out. You have to live, breathe, eat it.”
Biography
“In one of the stronger recruiting classes that we have seen in some time in the sport of wrestling, Mark Perry distinguished himself as the head of the class at the NHSCA Senior Nationals,” said NHSCA Executive Director Bob Ferraro. “The NHSCA is proud to recognize Mark Perry as the National High School Senior Wrestling Athlete of the Year.”
Perry, who won two national prep school titles and a junior national freestyle title after moving to Blair Academy from Stillwater, Oklahoma where he was a freshman state runner-up, won outstanding wrestler awards at three of the nation’s largest tournaments this past season. Those awards came at the Beast of the East tournament in Newark, New Jersey; the National Prep Championships at Lehigh University; and the NHSCA National High School Senior Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.
Though a native of tradition-rich Oklahoma and the nephew of legendary coach John Smith, Perry has opted to attend rival Iowa University to further his academic and athlete careers.
Perry went on to have an illustrious career as a Hawkeye. He was a 4x All American and a 2x NCAA Champion placing 2nd as a Freshman, 3rd as a Sophomore and 1st as a Junior and Senior. Perry is one of the best college wrestlers of all time. He had a career record of 96-16.
Upon graduation Perry began his coaching career at Penn State for one season before moving on to Cal Poly. Perry was at Cal Poly from 2009 until 2011 when he took a position as the assistant at the University of Illinois. Perry helped build Illinois into one of the top Big 10 programs over the six seasons he was there.
Ultimately, Perry couldn’t stay away from Carver Hawkeye for long. In 2017 Perry was selected to take over the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. Perry is now a full time freestyle coach preparing his wrestlers for International events.
Perry has been nothing but successful in the center of the mat and from the coach’s chair in the corner.
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