Charlie Kautz – The Daily Iowan
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Electrifying scenes of the emotion flooding from Mark Perry’s widening eyes, his adrenaline-loaded fists soaring in the air and bruised knees collapsing in the center of the NCAA wrestling championships-heightened stage were anything but scripted on March 17.
His head gear unstrapped and flailing in the roars of the Palace crowd, the Iowa junior cried, high-fived, bear-hugged, and screamed from the depths of his gasping lungs before sprinting into the heart of Section 104 to share the blur of a moment he’s dreamed of his entire life with family.
Up against two-time defending NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State, Perry scored a near-fall with 18 seconds remaining in the 165-pound championship match, taking a decisive 4-2 lead that ended magnificently in a shocking 4-3 upset in favor of the junior.
“I really didn’t wrestle the type of match I wanted to, the type of match that [Iowa] Coach [Tom Brands] and I talked about at the hotel, “Perry said. “I really didn’t wrestle a solid match, but really what it came down to was the support of my coaches and my family. In the past, it just wouldn’t have happened.
“I would’ve gotten rode out in that third period.”
The unbelievable seven-minute war with Hendricks, who before the match was Perry’s career-long kryptonite (0-6), was a rematch of the 2005 NCAA final in which Hendricks won, 5-2. By overcoming his nemesis, Perry not only handed his uncle and Oklahoma State head coach John Smith a title-match loss, he ended Hendricks’ astounding 56-match winning streak.
Intertwining immediate family, the focus to finally win the title and the climax of his wrestling career, Perry sat at the interview podium and attempted to squeeze out the emotions he soaked in like a dry towel just minutes earlier.
“Everyone knows what this match means to each individual, “he said. “I think it’s a little extra special, I think, for me growing up with my dad as a college coach since I was 6 years old.
“I saw my dad’s first national championship at Nebraska, and that’s been my life goal – it’s the most important thing in my life. It’s a sigh of relief finally to win it after coming so close the past two years. It’s huge for me.”
Since Perry orally committed to then-assistant Hawkeye coach Brands four years ago, the 623.47 miles separating his hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma and Iowa City – an easy choice from the opportunity to build a personal legacy – had become more than a literal distance for the Hawkeye over the course of three years.
With one final shot at the senior and four-time All-American Hendricks, Perry shrunk the space dividing his two sides, true home and the inner-Hawkeye.
“It’s really never been a big concern of mine, you know, me versus Hendricks, “Perry said. “It was more just getting to where I wanna be, to my goal. And I knew it was probably gonna have to be through him, so I focused on a lot of areas and probably just wrestled him like I wrestle most people.
“Like I told you last night, I could lose to him 150 times in a row, and I’m not going in thinking I’m not winning, or I wouldn’t be doing this sport.”
Becoming the first national champion for Iowa since Cliff Moore in 2004 and first defending national champion since Eric Juergens in 2000, Perry said the win couldn’t have come without the guidance of both Brands and Hawkeye legend-turned-assistant coach Dan Gable.
“I could’ve not done it without Gable and Brands, “he said. “It’s just something clicked where I knew I was gonna have to wrestle seven minutes to beat him. Everybody else, you know, I could pretty much get by.”
Although Perry’s victory propelled Iowa from 10th to eighth-place with 57.0 points, it was still the program’s lowest finish in the championships since 1972, when the Hawkeyes finished tied for seventh. In danger of ending the country’s longest consecutive top-10 streak at the NCAAs, Perry’s four points from the finals moved Iowa just enough up the leaderboard to keep it alive.
“This is big for the program, “Brands said. “It’s very important; it’s a big step for the program. When you’re building and rebuilding, it’s a huge step in the right direction.”
Gable agreed, adding that Perry’s win meant more than just help in the team standings.
“This is probably a very emotional win for him, being that he’s a nephew of John Smith, “Gable said. “Being that he’s from Stillwater, Okla., being that he’s probably wrestled Hendricks and been around Hendricks since they were little kids.
“You know, it’s just a big rivalry, and Hendricks, he professes that he likes to create controversy. You’ve gotta attack a lot of things in your mind to be able to beat him, so he did an outstanding job staying in the match.”
Just as Gable suggested following the final, Hendricks’ first loss in 57 tries did not come without controversy, at least from the 165-pounder’s point of view. Citing the hope of national fans and alleged poor judgment on the part of the match referees, Hendricks had plenty of reasons to explain the loss.
“The refs took it away from me, “he said, standing in street clothes and surrounded by reporters. “Just like this weekend, you know, that was a fast two [awarded for Perry’s near fall]. Most guys were calling it slow, most guys weren’t even calling that, they were going ‘No. that’s not two.’
“I had a target on my back, and you know what, it happens “¦ It sucks that I gotta go out this way, and it sucks that the fans and the refs make wrestling so dreadful sometimes.”
Say what he may about Perry’s one-point win, the third-period suspense, the celebrated history of the rivalry, and the overwhelming reaction captured on national television will not soon be forgotten.
No. 2 finally got the best of No. 1 March 17, and it couldn’t have been sweeter for Perry.
E-mail DI Sports Editor Charlie Kautz at:
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Seventh time’s a charm
Iowa’s Mark Perry waited for his last opportunity to knock off his nemesis. Oklahoma State senior Johny Hendricks entered the NCAA championships with a 34-0 mark, seven career wins against Perry, including six collegiate bouts, and a chance for a third individual title.
Perry had other plans. The 165-pound junior from Stillwater, Okla., earned two near-fall points in the final period to pull of the stunning 4-3 upset and give the Hawkeyes their first NCAA champion in three years.
Here’s a look at Perry six collegiate losses to Hendricks before last weekend’s stunning upset:
Nov. 21, 2004: Kaufman-Brand Open – Lost, 7-5 SV
Jan. 16, 2005 – Lost, 3-1
March 19, 2005: NCAA championships – Lost, 5-2
Nov. 20, 2006: NWCA All-Star Dual – Lost, 3-1
Jan. 13: National Duals – Lost, 9-1
Jan. 19 – Lost, 4-3
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