When the wrestling season began, C.P. Schlatter (152) of St. Paris, OH Graham High, Eric Tannenbaum (152) of Naperville, IL North High, and Roger Kish (189) of Lapeer, MI West High were considered the "Big Three" of the Class of 2003.    Then the competition started. And that's when a fourth star began shining more brightly than ever.    Not even the most talked-about wrestler on his own team before the first whistle blew, Mark Perry (160) of Blairstown, NJ Blair Academy won the Outstanding Wrestler award in three of the nation's showcase events "the Beast of the East Tournament at Newark, DE in December, the National Prep Championships at Lehigh University in February (for the second consecutive year), and the NHSCA National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships at Cleveland, OH in March,  earning him the 2003 Jr. Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's top high school wrestler.    The award is presented annually to the nation's most dominant high school wrestler and is co-sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Union and W.I.N. Magazine.    Perry won the High School Nationals OW over the other three Jr. Hodge candidates. Schlatter was also in the field when Perry took the Beast of the East honor.    "It's a tremendous honor to be considered with those guys," Perry said. "They1ve all had outstanding careers. I think I1m right there with them, but it's an honor to be recognized that way."    Especially considering the twists and turns Perry1s high school career has taken. While the other four candidates were ticketed for stardom from the first day they put on a high school uniform, Perry was leaving his hometown, Stillwater, Okla., to enroll at Blair after finishing second in Oklahoma's Class 5A state tournament at 103 pounds as a freshman.    He did have quite a pedigree. His father, Mark, was an Oklahoma State University assistant coach for eight years, and his uncles, Oklahoma State head coach John Smith and brothers Lee Roy, OSU assistant coach Pat - the first four-time Division I champion - and Mark, well, they don't need any introduction.    So it had to be one of the surprises of the year when Perry, now an elite prospect with two National Prep titles and a Junior National freestyle runner-up finish under his belt, announced his decision to attend rival Iowa instead of returning to Stillwater to compete at the school he grew up rooting for.    "I made my own choice, really," Perry said. "Everybody did a good job trying not to push me. Growing up I was a real big Oklahoma State fan. I definitely thought I would go to school there. It was really a tough choice to rule out Oklahoma State, when you grow up (there) like that, and this year they were the best. It was between them and Iowa at the end. But when I came to Blair, I liked being on my own, and being away from some of the distractions (at home) was a good thing. My style is not quite what they do at Iowa, but they have a great coaching staff, and I know they'll help me become a better wrestler."    "That was probably the most difficult decision he's ever had to make," Blair coach Jeff Buxton said. "It went against family, it went against everything he's been brought up with  Oklahoma State and Iowa, they just don't like each other. Crossing over that line was a difficult thing to do. I mean, who wouldn't want to wrestle for John Smith? This is a guy that he idolizes. The fact that he grew up in Stillwater, and coming back to a place like that, it still doesn't sit well with him or his family."    "He wants to be a four-time All-American, a multiple-time national champion. He already has a great athletic style of wrestling. And I think he was looking for a more physical style of wrestling, and I think he felt Iowa would give him that. But I think he could have accomplished his goals at both schools."    As much as Perry1s wrestling career has flourished at Blair, he insists the decision to leave Stillwater High was based on academics, not athletics.    "I knew if I went to Blair I'd have more options," Perry said. "Blair is at a different level both wrestling and academically from (Stillwater) High School. Our high school wasn't known for either, really."    "Academics was first and foremost from his parents' perspective," Buxton said. "They saw that he wasn't reaching his full potential at Stillwater High School. Here he's really getting prepared to handle the workload in college. The wrestling part is gravy. If he was in a situation where he1d have been permitted to skate through, he1d have tried to skate through. You can't do that at Blair. There's no place to hide. Our coaches (Solomon Fleckman, Nate Burroughs, Jim Frick) and I really honor what goes on here academically, because we1re teachers first and coaches second. But the coaching means an awful lot to us."    "I had never taken a test that wasn't multiple choice before," Perry said. "I haven't taken one since I got here. The kids here are all at a completely different level. They're preparing you to succeed in college, where in a lot of schools they're just trying to get kids through. We have study hall every night, and the workload here is tremendous."    Perry hit a growth spurt almost immediately after arriving at Blair, going all the way to 130 pounds as a sophomore. Given his rapid growth, Buxton has marveled at the progress Perry has made in just three years.    "He's developed unbelievably fast," Buxton said. "He could eventually be a 174-pounder or even a 184-pounder that has little-guy technique. His arms and legs are just so long that he creates problems for anybody to shoot on him. As far as riding, I think in college he can ride just about anybody. (Iowa State NCAA champion) Joe Heskett was a great rider, but I think Mark has the ability to go in right away and be able to ride college kids."    But it was Perry's flattest performance of the season, his championship at the Walsh Ironman Invitational at the start of the season, that impressed Buxton the most. Perry fought through the ill effects of a troublesome stomach virus to win the title.    "He was up all (Friday) night throwing up, and I was going to pull him out of the tournament on Saturday morning and he said, ÔCoach, I can wrestle, you need me.' I responded, ÔMark, it's not that big of a deal."    "He said, ÔI can still win this tournament.1 He didn't sleep all night and we had to rehydrate him in the morning. We had a doctor working on him that night and in the morning and he still wrestled unbelievably tough. He didn1t blow anybody away, but he showed how mentally tough he was. He is just an unbelievable competitor."    The Junior Dan Hodge Trophy is the high school version of the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy, which has become wrestling's Heisman Trophy. The awards are named after legendary three-time national champion Dan Hodge, who won three crowns at the University of Oklahoma (1955-1957).    A number of different criteria are used to select the Jr. Dan Hodge Trophy winner: dominance on the mat, number of pins, record, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship, citizenship and heart.    The Michigan-bound Tannenbaum rolled up a career record of 174-1. He was a three-time state champ, a Junior National freestyle champ in 2002 and a three-time Cadet champ.    Kish, who will be attending the University of Minnesota, was a four-time state titlist and finished with a career mark of 258-2. Amazingly, he was the Michigan state tournament Outstanding Wrestler his last three years. He was also a Junior National freestyle champ in 2002, a two-time Cadet champ, a High School Nationals champ and was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the U.S. team at the Dapper Dan Classic in mid-March.    Schlatter, who will become Kish's teammate this fall, finished his Ohio prep career as a four-time champ with a 165-1 record. He was a two-time Outstanding Wrestler at their state tournament and was also a Cadet Nationals champ. Schlatter downed Tannenbaum 5-1 for the High School Nationals title.     JUNIOR DAN HODGE TROPHY PAST WINNERS  Year/Name/Hometown  2003    Mark Perry, Blairstown, N.J.  2002    Teyon Ware, Edmond, Okla.  2001    Steve Mocco, North Berg