<p>The finishing match of the 21st and last state wrestling finals inside Southport Fieldhouse was, by all accounts, a Bless-ed event.</p><p>Greenwood senior Mark Bless capped a perfect 31-0 season by winning the heavyweight division with a 9-2 decision over North Central senior Jim Yanan in the championship match.</p><p>Bless, a standout for the Woodmen in football and track and field, graduated in 1980 having won 10 varsity letters. Now 58, he’s enjoying a successful career as a high school football coach, having achieved a record of 233-100 in 30 seasons.</p><p>“I was always passionate about football and kind of fell in love with wrestling,” said Bless, who’ll soon start his 11th season as the coach at Avon. “I started wrestling in the seventh grade, and most of my friends at that time were playing basketball.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“With wrestling, whether you win or lose, it’s all up to you.”</p><p>As a Greenwood junior, Bless was undefeated at 185 pounds until losing to Roncalli junior Duane Lutgring in the final match of the regular season. He lost to Lutgring again in the title match of the Shelbyville Regional, but exacted a measure of revenge by defeating him at the Bloomington South Semistate.</p><p>Neither fared particularly well at the state finals, but they both used the experience as a springboard to the following season. Lutgring won state at 185 pounds as a Rebels senior to finish 30-0; Bless closed the door on the Southport Fieldhouse era (the meet moved to Market Square Arena the following year) the very next match.</p><p>After high school, Bless attended Indiana Central University (now the University of Indianapolis) where in 1983 he was Heartland Conference Player of the Year and a Division II All-American on the gridiron. His freshman roommate was Lutgring, who played football and wrestled for the Greyhounds.</p><p>“Mark is such a nice guy, and has always been a class act. He presents himself that way at all times,” said Lutgring, who is still friends with Bless. “Mark was a Division I athlete playing Division II football. He had the frame. The speed. The strength. The determination.</p><p>“He was a competitor who came in and led by example lifting weights and watching film. I’m sure that carried over to his coaching career.”</p><p>Bless’ father, Bill, was the ICU head football coach for 22 seasons (1972-93) and remains the program’s career leader in victories with a record of 114-99-9. The family coaching tree also features Mark’s two younger brothers: Scott (Greenwood ’83), now the head coach at Bloomington North, and Tim (’90), who leads Columbus North.</p><p>The brothers have a combined record of 460-323 entering the upcoming season.</p><p>Mark Bless started as a head coach with a five-year run at North Vermillion (1990-94) and followed it with a 15-year stay at Mooresville (1995-2009). He has been in charge at Avon since 2010.</p><p>The Orioles opened the 2019 season with a 48-14 decision over Columbus North inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It was one of the rare times in Bless’ career that he had to coach against one of his brothers.</p><p>“That was really difficult. It wasn’t fun,” said Mark Bless, whose son Tyler, 30, is one of Columbus North’s assistant coaches. “But it beat one of us going to Ohio to play a game because neither of us could find a local team to play.”</p><p>Bless doesn’t know how many more years he’ll coach before hanging up his whistle, but he’s glad his passion for athletic competition started as a young child in Greenwood.</p><p>“It takes a village, and I loved growing up in Greenwood,” Bless said. “There was a lot of community support. We had good coaches, teachers and administrators who cared about your success.”</p>
