Mark Perry finished runner-up at 165 pounds last March at the NCAA Championships (photo by Johnnie Johnson)."I haven't been able to compete in the practice room during the last two, two and a half months," said Perry, who is ranked No. 2 in the country by RevWrestling.com behind Missouri's Ben Askren. "That's one of those things where you feel good after two weeks, come back, and all of a sudden a guy gets to your leg and it hurts again. It's still a little iffy, but it'll be fine. I just need to get some good training in."
Perry made his season debut on Nov. 26 in Tempe, Arizona, picking up a second period pin against Arizona State's Alex Pavlenko. Last Friday night, in his second match of the season, Perry dominated David Bertolino of Iowa State, 13-3, as the Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones, 20-15, in Ames, Iowa. Perry scored a takedown just 25 seconds into the match, and then proceeded to rack up six near-fall points in the first period (three two-pointers) to build an 8-0 lead, which helped propel him to an easy victory.
While most wrestlers would have been satisfied with such a performance, especially in the early part of the season, the 21-year-old Perry clearly wasn't.
"I didn't feel it was a good performance on my part," said Perry. "I thought that a couple of guys did a decent job, but I didn't feel like we competed like we should have, especially me. I could have easily tech falled that kid. I was up eight points in the first period. I kind of just stopped wrestling, instead of going for the technical fall or the fall. It was a little bit different for me because it was my first real test against a kid who is ranked in the top 15."
Iowa coach Jim Zalesky, who is in his ninth season at the helm, believes that his sophomore standout needs to change his mindset.
"I think the one thing that he has to realize is that he can go on his feet and be tough there too," said Zalesky. He's tough to take down. Sometimes I think he relies almost too much on mat wrestling, when he can go on his feet and open up on his feet."
Perry's main workout partner during the off-season was Iowa assistant coach Tim Hartung. But his injury has prevented him from working out with Hartung, who won two NCAA titles for the University of Minnesota.
"I haven't been able to workout with (Hartung) lately because of my knee," said Perry. "We haven't really worked out in a long time. The first time I practiced with him this last week, it was the first time in eight to 10 weeks because, honestly, he's good. He can get to my leg. If someone gets to my leg, it hurts. Even in my match (against Iowa State), I'm glad that I got a potentially dangerous call from Mike Allen. He probably shouldn't have called it potentially dangerous, but it was going to get close. My knee was hurt pretty badly in the first period and it kind of bothered me throughout the match."
Perry believes that getting mat time is the most important thing for him right now.
"Right now, I can go seven minutes with anybody, but I'm not up to the level where I want to be," said Perry. The thing is, once I get some good training in and get into the shape I need to be in, by the time the Midlands come around, I'll be ready to go."
Mark Perry defeated David Bertolino of Iowa State, 13-3, last Friday night in Ames, Iowa (photo by Johnnie Johnson)."I'm really excited to wrestle Herbert," said Perry. "He's pretty big. He'll probably be a 184-pounder after this season. He's tough on top. He likes to roll around, which is good for me. That's one thing I think a lot of people underestimate, how much I can roll around. I hope these guys, like Askren, try to get in those scrambles with me. I'm sure they're thinking the same thing. I just feel like I'm going to come out on top. It should be an exciting match. Obviously, I have to first get ready for the dual against UNI (on Thursday), and then after that, get ready for Midlands."
In the off-season, Perry lifted weights hard and got as high as 193 pounds. He now feels comfortable and confident in his new weight class.
"I just feel that I'm faster than these guys," said Perry. "Last year, I felt so much weaker than everybody. I feel like I'm stronger than everybody that I wrestle now. I just have to get some good training in. Coach has held me out for the safety of my knee. It's still not where it needs to be. I'll probably wrestle some lighter guys to protect it and do a lot of cardiovascular training. I just need to get to where I need to be. I don't think anybody can beat me."
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