A member of the Hillsboro High School class of 1992, Mark Hughes was part of a Hiltopper wrestling dynasty, capping of his career with a second place finish in the IHSA state finals as a senior.

Hughes wrestled on teams that qualified for state all four years at Hillsboro High School, finishing fourth in 1990, 1991, and 1992.

He was also a three-time individual qualifier, finishing second in the Class A 152-pound class as a senior.  On the state mats in Champaign, he opened with a 13-0 major decision win against Steve Brown of Lena-Winslow in the quarterfinals, then defeated previously unbeaten Larry Popp of Harvard 13-9 in the semifinals.

In the championship bout, Hughes came within one point of a state championship, falling to Eric Johnson of Bismarck-Henning 6-5 to finish his senior season with a 39-2 record and a second place medal.

In football, he made the Mid-State Conference all-conference teams on offense and defense as a senior.

He went on to wrestle for Lincoln College, finishing fifth at nationals and earning National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American status.