A broken neck. Five knee surgeries. A program with limited scholarships back from being cut. None of these or other challenges have stopped Mark Cody from excelling at the highest levels of wrestling as a competitor or as a coach. Mark earned All-American status three times in college and was a finalist in the Olympic Trials in freestyle in 1988.

He coached 70 All-Americans, nine NCAA champions, five Olympic and World Medalists and a plethora of Academic All-Americans. In fact, his 2009 and 2010 American University teams finished as the NWCA National Classroom champions.

While a head coach, 10 of his teams finished in the Top 25. For his efforts, he garnered honors such as the NWCA/NCAA Coach of the Year (2011), the NCWA Bob Bubb Award for Coaching Excellence, the NWCA Presidential Award (2016) and was a two-time recipient of the EIWA Sportsmanship Award. In addition, he served as the NWCA President from 2014-16.

Where did this successful career in wrestling start? Well, with basketball.

"In sixth and seventh grade, I got cut from the basketball team two years in a row," Mark said. "I had a friend who wrestled and asked me if I'd be interested in trying out. That was it -- I fell in love with the sport right away. The camaraderie and friendships I developed early on kept me going, even though I took some lumps early on."

He picked up the sport quickly, led by Hall of Fame coach Bill Layton.

"He was a legend," Mark said. "A great teacher of the sport and a technical master. As a coach, I use the same terminology he taught with. He had a way of getting his technique across - he was such a good communicator. Positioning is better today and wrestlers are much stronger, but a lot of his stuff still works."

Despite two knee surgeries, Mark won a Section IV title in his senior year at Binghamton High School. As much as he loved the sport, however, he wasn't sure if he would compete at the next level. However, he went along with a friend on a recruiting trip to SUNY Delhi and decided to join Coach Frank Millard's squad.

"The first week, maybe even the first few weeks, I'm not sure I even got a takedown because there were so many good kids in the room," Mark said. "I was nervous for wrestleoffs because there were three other guys in my weight class."

He won a spot on the team and enjoyed tremendous success in his first year at 177 pounds, taking fourth at the national tournament to become an All-American.

"It was a great situation," Mark said. "Frank Millard was a legendary coach - a Coach of the Year winner several times. He set a national record for consecutive dual meet wins. I also had good workout partners to push me and make me better plus Bill [Layton's] technique and it all really kicked in."

The next year at nationals, he clinched All-American status again by advancing to the semifinals and took a 7-2 lead in that match before breaking his neck.

"At the hospital, the doctors told me I probably would never wrestle again," he said. "But I never thought that was true - not even for a second. I had numbness, some paralysis, but I knew I'd be wrestling again."

Mark rehabbed and returned to action in open tournaments, where he registered a number of impressive victories, including over a Division I All-American and a Division III national champion. Prestigious programs such as Iowa State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Missouri recruited him.

Mark chose the Tigers, because of the great things he had heard about Coach [Bob] Kopnisky, and the tough partners around his weight. Mark went to Missouri after Delhi where he qualified for the NCAA championships during his first season in the Big 12 and made the blood round even after a substantial injury before the tournament. The next year, as a senior for the Tigers, Mark put together a fantastic campaign, which ended with an All-American finish, and the team's Most Outstanding Wrestler award.

Mark knew that he wasn't finished with the sport yet. After a year on the coaching staff at Bloomsburg under Carl Poff, he moved to Oklahoma State as an assistant, where he spent significant time training in freestyle.

"I learned so much in the year I was there," he said. "I trained with Mike Sheets, maybe the toughest human being I've ever met, and Kenny Monday, an Olympic champion. I still attribute a lot of the things I've been able to accomplish as a coach to Mike. When I get tired, I think about him - he was always working on getting better at something."

Despite Mark's limited previous freestyle experience, after his year of training he succeeded as usual, winning tournaments such as the NYAC. He was an Olympic Trials finalist at 198 pounds. When a full-time opportunity emerged on the staff at Nebraska, Mark joined the Cornhuskers.

"A lot of medals came out of that room," he said. "It was a lot of fun with guys like Brad Vering, Matt Lindland and Rulon Gardner [all Olympic/World medalists]."

Mark then transitioned back to Oklahoma State where he served as the Associate Head Coach for the Big 12 champions. He wasn't looking to leave, but when he received a call about the head coaching position at American University in 2002, he decided to give it a shot.

"I was in a great situation at Oklahoma State," he said. "Everyone thought I was nuts to look at American because they had dropped the program and just brought it back. But, I hadn't been a head coach yet and I felt it was time. It was very difficult to leave - there were definitely tears. I went from what was the best program in the country to a struggling program."

Mark said that he started off with four wrestlers and a limited number of scholarships at a school that cost $55,000 a year to attend. Thinking out of the box was essential. He definitely used much of what he had learned from previous mentors.

"Carl Poff at Bloomsburg showed me that a lot more goes into coaching than I knew; the coaching is just a small part of it. I couldn't believe everything he did," Mark said. "At Nebraska, Tim Newman just about built the program from scratch. I saw the CEO side to things and how important it was to make sure the coaches in the state are involved with the program. He packed the house for matches and wasn't afraid to recruit anybody."

Mark made an impact quickly at American. In 2005, the Eagles qualified wrestlers for the NCAA tournament for the first time through the EIWA conference, sending four competitors to Nationals. Daniel Waters became the school's first-ever All-American that season. The squad finished in the top 25 five of the next six years, culminating in a fifth place showing in 2011. During Mark's tenure, American boasted 14 All-Americans, including finalist Ryan Flores and national champion Josh Glenn.

"[In 2007] Josh was the first national champion in any sport at American and that was really special. It was great for the university. I didn't realize how many people were watching, but the outpouring of congratulations afterwards was really neat."

Neat, but not surprising to Mark, who was amazed at the support at American from the very start.

"The support of the administration and the alumni was incredible," he said. "Bob Karch was a coach there in the 60s and 70s and his group; they were amazing. What a positive group of alumni. They backed us no matter what. When we got pounded the first couple of years, I would get calls from six different alumni every Monday. They wanted to make sure I was ok and a lot of that was because of the way [Karch] touched their lives. The kindness and friendship really stands out - and it was there the whole time, not just when we became successful."

The wrestlers, of course, were also drivers of that success.

"The kids I had at American - just a great bunch of people," he said. "What really stands out is that these athletes wanted to be good at everything - great students, citizens, and people - not just great wrestlers."

American featured 21 Academic All-Americans under Mark. In fact, standout academic and athletic performance has been a hallmark of Mark Cody-coached teams.

He became head coach at Oklahoma in the 2011-12 season and while at the helm for the Sooners, his student-athletes earned 13 Academic-All America honors. On the mat, Cody led the team to four top 13 finishes, with 10 All-Americans and three national finalists, two of whom won championships (Kendric Maple and Cody Brewer).

Mark built the American program from the ground floor to a national power.

He has a similar mission in mind now, as he was hired at Presbyterian College in December 2017 to start not one, but two, new Division I programs - a men's and women's.

"This university and this administration are visionaries," Mark said. "To have the courage to start the first-ever women's DI program at the same time as a men's program - that really intrigued me. I'm pinching myself as far as going to work everyday. It's exciting for the sport. There are a lot of eyes on this - it could snowball."

Mark is the director of both programs, which will commence competition in the 2019-20 campaign. He said he already has 15 wrestlers in the room, including four women.

"We're starting from scratch and it's exciting," he said. "We have a great place to start with great kids. They'll help sell the program."

Working with Mark Cody sells itself. But he knows he couldn't have done it all alone.

"I've worked with so many great people in wrestling," he said. "My wife Holly is absolutely wonderful; our marriage is a treasure. We have four boys who are fortunate to have her as a mother. She brings out the best in everyone. I am proud to be her husband and I could not imagine being on this journey with anyone else."

Mark's journey has included success every step of the way. For his outstanding career as a wrestler, program builder and coach, the Upstate Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to induct Mark Cody into the Hall of Fame and present him the well-deserved Lifetime Service Award.