Anthony Cassar

Anthony Cassar (born March 9, 1996) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He is a one-time NCAA Division I champion and a one-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Penn State University and a one-time NJSIAA title holder as a high schooler.

Anthony Cassar

Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	March 9, 1996 Rocky Hill, New Jersey, U.S
Weight	237 lb (108 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Folkstyle
College team	Penn State Nittany Lions
Club	Nittany Lion Wrestling Club
Coached by	Cael Sanderson
Medal record Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 2019 Pittsburgh 285 lb Big Ten Championships 2019 Minneapolis 285 lb

Folkstyle career

High School

Cassar attended Montgomery High School in New Jersey. During his freshman, sophomore and junior years, he never qualified for state and compiled a record of 73 wins and 30 losses. In his senior year, he finally qualified for state and became the fourth person in the history of the state to win the tournament after never qualifying before. He compiled an undefeated record of 43 wins and no losses in his final season and an 116–30 record overall.[1][2]

College

After his performance as a high school senior, he committed to Penn State University.[3] He redshirted 2014-15 and compiled a record of 15-8 while wrestling unattached.[4] He originally missed his freshman and sophomore seasons due to an injury but was granted one more year of eligibility by the NCAA, so he only lost his freshman year but would compete as a sophomore in 2017–18. As a sophomore, he compiled a record of 16-2 during regular season with a Keystone Classic title[5] and a third-place finish at the Southern Scuffle after being defeated by his teammate Shakur Rasheed. Despite his success, he was left in the bench for the post season and the teammate whom he had lost to was chosen as the starter.[6][7] In his next season, he moved up to heavyweight (285 pounds) and saw immediate success, posting a record of 21-1 during regular season with lone loss to Derek White at the Southern Scuffle's finals.[8] In the post season, he made his way to the first-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with wins over the #6 and #7 ranked wrestlers and top-ranked Gable Steveson at the finale.[9] At the 2019 NCAA championships, he got the victory over multiple ranked wrestlers including Steveson in the semifinals to make his way to the finale. In the finals, he avenged his regular season's loss on a dominant major decision win over Derek White to claim the championship on his first trip to the NCAA championships.[10] In his final season, he had posted a record of 3 wins and no losses but was affected by a shoulder injury while competing at a freestyle event and subsequently announced his career as a collegiate wrestler was over.[11]

Cassar graduated with a record of 49 wins and 3 losses during his time as a Nittany Lion.[12]

Freestyle career

As a junior level freestyle wrestler, Cassar was the 15' World Team Member at 96 kilograms[13] and represented the USA at that year's World Championships, where he placed eight.[14]

2019

Cassar made his senior level debut on December 22 at the US Nationals, in an attempt to earn a shot at the Olympic Trials.[15] He dominantly won his first two bouts to reach the semifinals,[16] where he was forced to abandon the match due to a shoulder injury and forfeited his next contests too. This injury also caused the end of his senior season at Penn State.[17]

2020

Cassar was scheduled to compete at the Last Chance Olympic Trials qualifier on March 27 at Millersville, Pennsylvania.[18] However, the event was postponed along with the Olympic Games and Trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

Mixed martial arts career

On May 30, 2020, it was announced that Cassar had signed an MMA management deal with First Round Management and is expected to make the transition after the 20' (21') Summer Olympics.[20][21] He has been training at powerhouse American Top Team in the meantime, training with UFC's welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal and Nittany Lion teammate and three-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal,[22][23] who is also expected to transition to mixed martial arts and train full-time at ATT after the Olympics.[24]

Freestyle record

NCAA record

Stats

Collegiate awards & records

• Junior

  • NCAA Division I (285 lbs)
  • Big Ten Conference (285 lbs)
  • Team's first NCAA heavyweight champion in the century

References

1. "CONGRATULATIONS: Members of Our Diocesan Family!". nynjoca.org. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
2. "Anthony Cassar - Wrestling". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
3. "2014 Recruiting Class Rankings". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
4. [email protected], Elton Hayes. "Penn State wrestling | National champ Cassar out for season". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
5. Sauertieg, Clay (2017-11-19). "Penn State Crowns Seven Champions at Keystone Classic". Black Shoe Diaries. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
6. "Penn State Wrestling's Anthony Cassar Reportedly Granted Two More Years Of Eligibility". Onward State. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
7. Collegian, Ben Jenkins | The Daily. "One year ago: How the 2018 Southern Scuffle changed Shakur Rasheed's Penn State wrestling career". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
8. "Nittany Lions Win 2019 Southern Scuffle". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
9. "2019 Big Ten Wrestling Championships". bigten.org. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
10. "Anthony Cassar Wins 2019 NCAA Heavyweight Title". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
11. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Penn State wrestling's Anthony Cassar announces the end of his college wrestling career". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
12. LLC, ACS. "Anthony Cassar (Unknown) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
13. Guillotine1 (2015-06-12). "2015 UWW Junior World Team Trials". The Guillotine. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
14. emmanuel. "Junior World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
15. "Senior Nationals men's freestyle preview: Exciting battles expected for coveted Olympic Team Trials bids". Team USA. December 18, 2019.
16. "Senior Nationals Finals Are Set For Sunday". www.flograppling.com. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
17. PennLive, Jim Carlson | Special to (2020-01-07). "Shoulder injuries end seasons for Penn State wrestlers Anthony Cassar, Kyle Conel". pennlive. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
18. "Millersville to host 2020 Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier". Millersville. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
19. "POSTPONED – Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier will be moved to new date and site to be determined". Team USA. March 13, 2020.
20. "Penn State wrestling champion Anthony Cassar signs MMA deal". 247Sports. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
21. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Former Penn State wrestler Anthony Cassar signs MMA management deal". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
22. "Jorge Masvidal on Instagram: "Working on my striking with @nobickal1 @ant_thechamp_cassar #andnew #frm #americantopteam #theresurrection"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
23. "Bo Nickal on Instagram: "Caged Animals."". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
24. "UFC contender Jorge Masvidal says Bo Nickal is next MMA star". 247Sports. Retrieved 2020-06-04.

External links

• Anthony Cassar at United World Wrestling