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
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-03-09) March 9, 1996
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, U.S
ResidenceState College, Pennsylvania, U.S
Weight237 lb (108 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Folkstyle
College teamPenn State Nittany Lions
ClubNittany Lion Wrestling Club
Coached byCael Sanderson
Medal record
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
2019 Pittsburgh285 lb
Big Ten Championships
2019 Minneapolis285 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
Senior Freestyle Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location
2019 US Nationals 6th at 125 kg
Win 2-0 Ceron Francisco 10-2 December 22, 2019 2019 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier

Fort Worth, Texas

Win 1-0 Jeremy Benton TF 10-0

NCAA record
NCAA Division I Record
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event
End of 2019-2020 Season (senior year)
Win 49-3 Jordan Wood 9-4 December 6, 2019 Penn State - Lehigh Dual
Win 48-3 Tanner Hall 9-5 November 22, 2019 Penn State - Arizona State Dual
Win 47-3 John Birchmeier Fall November 10, 2019 Navy - Penn State Dual
Start of 2019-2020 Season (senior year)
End of 2018-2019 Season (junior year)
2019 NCAA championships at 285 lbs
Win 46-3 Derek White MD 10-1 March 21, 2019 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 45-3 Gable Steveson 4-3
Win 44-3 Trent Hillger 4-0
Win 43-3 Tate Orndorff MD 10-2
Win 42-3 Antonio Pelusi Fall
2019 Big Ten Conference at 285 lbs
Win 41-3 Gable Steveson 4-3 Mar 9, 2019 2019 Big Ten Championships
Win 40-3 Conan Jennings MD 10-2
Win 39-3 David Jensen 8-4
Win 38-3 Jacob Aven MD 12-4
Win 37-3 Sam Schuyler MD 16-5 February 24, 2019 Buffalo - Penn State Dual
Win 36-3 Deuce Rachal Fall February 17, 2019 Penn State - Illinois Dual
Win 35-3 Chase Beard TF 21-6 February 15, 2019 Michigan State - Penn State Dual
Win 34-3 Chase Singletary MD 18-8 February 8, 2019 Penn State - Ohio State Dual
Win 33-3 Mason Parris MD 19-8 February 1, 2019 Michigan - Penn State Dual
Win 32-3 Fletcher Miller 11-5 January 27, 2019 Penn State - Indiana Dual
Win 31-3 Jacob Aven MD 14-4 January 25, 2019 Penn State - Purdue Dual
Win 30-3 David Jensen 10-4 January 20, 2019 Nebraska - Penn State Dual
Win 29-3 Trent Hillger 11-5 January 13, 2019 Wisconsin - Penn State Dual
Win 28-3 Conan Jennings MD 12-2 January 11, 2019 Penn State - Northwestern Dual
2019 Southern Scuffle at 285 lbs
Loss 27-3 Derek White 2-3 January 1, 2019 2019 Southern Scuffle
Win 27-2 Matt Voss MD 14-6
Win 26-2 Gannon Gremmel MD 16-5
Win 25-2 Ryan Cloud MD 16-4
Win 24-2 Jordan Earnest MD 18-4
Win 23-2 Brady Gilliland-Daniel Fall December 14, 2018 Arizona State - Penn State Dual
Win 22-2 Jordan Wood MD 12-3 December 2, 2018 Lehigh - Penn State Dual
Win 21-2 Brandon Stokes Fall November 30, 2018 Penn State - Bucknell Dual
2018 Keystone Classic at 285 lbs
Win 20-2 Joseph Goodhart MD 11-3 November 18, 2018 2018 Keystone Classic
Win 19-2 Nick Nevills 7-2
Win 18-2 Ben Goldin Fall
Win 17-2 Billy Bolia TF 17-2 November 11, 2018 Kent State - Penn State Dual
Start of 2018-2019 Season (junior year)
End of 2017-2018 Season (sophomore year)
Win 16-2 Kollin Moore 6-3 February 3, 2018 Ohio State - Penn State Dual
Win 15-2 Anthony Messner MD 16-5 January 28, 2018 Penn State - Rutgers Dual
Win 14-2 David-Brian Whisler MD 14-5 January 21, 2018 Penn State - Maryland Dual
Win 13-2 Nick May MD 16-2 January 14, 2018 Penn State - Michigan State Dual
2018 Southern Scuffle at 197 lbs
Win 12-2 Stephen Loiseau 4-1 January 1, 2018 2018 Southern Scuffle
Win 11-2 Scottie Boykin 9-7
Loss 10-2 Shakur Rasheed 4-6
Win 10-1 Stephen Loiseau 4-1
Win 9-1 Tristan Sponseller 13-10
Win 8-1 Spencer Irick MD 16-5 December 17, 2017 Indiana - Penn State Dual
Win 7-1 Jake Jakobsen 8-3 December 3, 2017 Penn State - Lehigh Dual
2017 Keystone Classic at 197 lbs
Win 6-1 Frank Mattiace 7-4 November 18, 2017 2017 Keystone Classic
Win 5-1 Matt McCutcheon 5-6
Win 4-1 Alec Schenk 12-5
Win 3-1 Robert Ng MD 12-4
Win 2-1 Mark Tracy 10-4 November 17, 2017 Penn State - Binghamton Dual
Loss 1-1 Garrett Hoffman 8-11 November 12, 2017 Bucknell - Penn State Dual
Win 1-0 Rocco Caywood 10-3 November 9, 2017 Army - Penn State Dual
Start of 2017-2018 Season (sophomore year)

Stats


Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus
2020 Senior Penn State University #2 (DNQ) 285 3-0 100.00% 33.33%
2019 Junior #1 (1st) 30-1 96.77% 70.97%
2018 Sophomore #7 (DNQ) 197 16-2 88.89% 27.78%
Career 49-3 94.23% 53.85%

Collegiate awards & records
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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. ehayes@cnhi.com, 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.
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