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but that does remain a possibility for him and a handful of other Penn State wrestlers most interested in competing in the trials. "I'll be competing in a couple freestyle tournaments throughout the season and wrestling a semi-modified college season as well, kind of mixing both in and staying sharp and getting ready to go for the post- season," Cassar said. Weight-room training is a huge seg- ment of Cassar's training regimen, and both he and Penn State coach Cael Sanderson label his performance in there as scary. "I've always loved lifting, and that made the transition to heavyweight easier," said Cassar, who has gained about 45 pounds since the end of the 2017-18 season. "I've been training my butt off in there with the help of the training lab and strength coach Mike [Schroeder], and hopefully that transitions onto the mat." It has so far, even though Cassar could be called a late bloomer. As a New Jersey high school senior, he became only the fourth wrestler in state history to win a title after never previously qualifying for the tournament. And as a Penn State sophomore, he was the catalyst to the Lions' 19-18 victory over Ohio State when he knocked off Kollin Moore, but he was- n't selected by the coaching staff to com- pete in the postseason. Cassar made up for that last season by winning 19 consecutive bouts after los- ing, 3-2, to Oklahoma State's Derek White in the Southern Scuffle finals. His last match of the season was in the NCAA finals, and it was 10-1 major decision over… Derek White. "That was amazing… but I knew it was going to happen," said teammate and good friend Shakur Rasheed, who also re- ceived a medical redshirt from the NCAA and has returned to Penn State for an- other season at 184 pounds. "The thing that actually amazed me the W restling is such an individual sport that people who follow Penn State – or any team – remember all the team championships but typically can't for- get the individual losses. It's fair to call that human nature, and it's equally fair to say that the wrestlers – as much as they might want to – don't forget, either. While Penn State was winning its eighth NCAA team title in nine years last season in Pittsburgh, Nittany Lion juniors Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall were defeated in the championship fi- nals. Joseph, a gold medalist as a freshman and sophomore, lost to Virginia Tech freshman Mekhi Lewis, 7-1, while Hall was edged, 4-3, by Arizona State's Zahid Valencia, who also beat Hall in the 2018 finals (8-2). Joseph, a senior who competes in ar- guably the strongest of the 10 NCAA weight classes (165 pounds), won't face Lewis again in college because the Hokie sophomore is taking a medical redshirt. And Hall, also a senior, won't have to tangle with Valencia at 174 in the college ranks again because the Sun Devil standout has moved up to 184 pounds. Both are ready to put that Pittsburgh final round behind them. "I'm a little more focused now, just a little more driven," said Joseph, who has a 74-8 career record. "Losing last year, I guess it kind of helped me refo- cus and not take things super lightly and just enjoy the sport." Hall, who is 93-5 in three seasons, said he tries not to think about the rare defeats. "It's important to me, sure, but an- other thing that's important to me is just doing the right thing," he said. "I would say more than losing, finding myself in sticky situations or not doing the right things, those are the learning moments I think have way more impact than winning and losing. "It has been and will continue to be a real cool journey I'm on here," Hall added. "I just think my coaches and my teammates are second to none and I'm appreciative of the opportunities." AND WHAT ABOUT APRIL? Hall will have to make a decision about which weight class he'll be in while attempt- ing to qualify for the Olympic Trials. That means either losing 11 pounds to get to 74kg (163 pounds) or gaining 15 to get to 86kg (189). "Wrestling those guys up at 86kg will be tough, they're a little taller and a lit- tle bigger," Hall said. "Going down to 163 will be tough because cutting weight sucks and no one wants to do it, but sometimes you have to man up." EARLY APRIL IN THE BJC Wrestling fans from across the country will con- verge on Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center April 4-5 for the Olympic Tri- als, which Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said are very close to a sell- out. The country's best wrestlers will be on the big stage to compete for spots on the U.S. team for the Tokyo Games July 24-Aug. 9. A relatively large number of elite-level wrestlers train under Sanderson and his staff in the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. That includes wrestlers like Bo Nickal, Zain Rether- ford, Franklin Gomez, David Taylor, Kyle Snyder, Jason Nolf, Bedkzod Ab- durakhmonov and Jaime Espinal. That roster bodes well for how the Seniors Joseph, Hall look to make most of final season |

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