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Anthony Cassar

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

Folkstyle career

High school

Raised in Rocky Hill, New Jersey, Cassar started wrestling at around age 7 or 8. He 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.

College

After his performance as a high school senior, he committed to Penn State University. He redshirted 2014-15 and compiled a record of 15-8 while wrestling unattached. 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 the regular season, with a Keystone Classic title and a third-place finish at the Southern Scuffle after being defeated by his teammate Shakur Rasheed. Despite his success, he was left on the bench for the postseason, with Rasheed as the starter.

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. In the postseason, 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. 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. In his final season, he had posted a record of three 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.

Cassar graduated with a record of 49 wins and three losses during his time as a Nittany Lion.

Freestyle career

As a junior-level freestyle wrestler, Cassar was the 2015 World Team Member at 96 kilograms and represented the USA at that year's World Championships, where he placed eighth.

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. He dominantly won his first two bouts to reach the semifinals, where he was forced to abandon the match due to a shoulder injury and forfeited his next contests too. This injury also ended his senior season at Penn State.

2020

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

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. He has been training at 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, who is also expected to transition to mixed martial arts and train full-time at ATT after the Olympics. Anthony was set to make his pro MMA debut on November 19, 2022, against Idrees Wasi. Cassar would go on to win the bout via first round arm triangle choke. Anthony was next scheduled to fight John Gianatasio on October 22. 2023, he won the bout via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).