2021 NCAA All-American Tony Cassioppi (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
#35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
Next is…
Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
Weight: 285 lbs
Year: Sophomore
Career Record: 33-6
Hometown: Roscoe, Illinois
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 3rd Place, 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2x Big Ten 3rd Place
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #3 at 285 lbs
The final two years of Tony Cassioppi's high school career saw him go undefeated and he failed to surrender an offensive point. Not only did Cassioppi succeed in folkstyle, but he also shined in the international styles. During the spring/summer of 2017 and 2018, Cassioppi won the Triple Crown in the Junior age group.
With returning All-American Sam Stoll in the fold, Cassioppi was allowed to redshirt during the 2018-19 season. Cassioppi started his year of unattached action with 13 straight wins. Of those 13 victories, 11 came via fall. That winning streak included tournament titles at the Grand View Open, the Lindenwood Open and the UNI Open. It extended into the quarterfinals of the Midlands, where Cassioppi fell to Campbell's Jere Heino, 11-3. Cassioppi would eventually take seventh. At the Midlands, he scored a win over national qualifier AJ Nevills (Fresno State).
Cassioppi finished his redshirt year with three more falls during his title run at the Loras Open. After the collegiate season, Cassioppi turned his focus towards freestyle. He claimed a title at the UWW Junior Open at 125 kg. Though he did not compete at Junior World's, his replacement, Mason Parris (Michigan), captured a world title.
Just like his redshirt season, Cassioppi started his official career with Iowa on a long win streak. It would be until February before Cassioppi lost in an Iowa singlet. In only his third dual meet, Cassioppi knocked off returning All-American Trent Hilger (Wisconsin), 3-2. He would get another at the Midlands, beating Central Michigan's Matt Stencel. Cassioppi went on the win the Midlands, also defeating Zach Elam (Missouri) and Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) in the process.
Cassioppi's first loss came against Parris in early February. Parris was able to secure a fall after unleashing a barrage of offensive attacks. It didn't get any easier the next time Cassioppi took the mat as Gable Steveson (Minnesota) loomed. Cassioppi acquitted himself well in a 7-5 loss to the Gopher superstar.
It wouldn't be long before Cassioppi butted heads with Steveson again. The two squared off in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships and again, it went in Steveson's favor, 9-4. Tony would rebound to take third place after a 4-0 shutout of Hillger.
The cancelation of the 2020 NCAA Championships prevented Cassioppi from competing in his first national and potentially Iowa's first team title since 2010. Tony was seeded third at the 285 lb weight class. His first match was supposed to be against Andrew Gunning (North Carolina). Other notables on his half of the bracket included #2 Parris, #6 Hillger, #7 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), and #10 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard). Based on his seed, Cassioppi was named an NWCA 1st Team All-American.
The shortened 2021 season saw Cassioppi hit the mat for the first time against Nebraska's national qualifier Christian Lance. He would get by with a 4-0 win over the Husker. Next up was another meeting with Steveson. This time the future Olympic champion was able to open up the scoring with a 15-6 major decision. Cassioppi coasted into the postseason after tallying pins in his next three bouts.
At the B1G's, Cassioppi fell victim to Parris once again via fall. Aside from that setback, Tony did log wins over three 2021 All-Americans (Hillger, Tate Orndorff - Ohio State, and Greg Kerkvliet - Penn State) on his way to another third-place finish.
The abridged season saw a pair of wrestlers from other conferences finish with undefeated records, which bumped Cassioppi down to the fifth seed. Right out of the gate, Cassioppi started hot with back-to-back major decisions over Jon Spaulding (Edinboro) and Orndorff. Those wins set the stage for a quarterfinal bout against one of the unbeaten contenders, #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State). Cassioppi was able to keep the former Cadet Greco world champion in check with a 4-1 win.
A win over Schultz put Cassioppi into the semifinals and guaranteed a place amongst the top-six. That was as far as he'd go in the championship round, as Steveson was looming. Once again, he defeated the Hawkeye big man by bonus points and relegated him to the consolations.
In his two subsequent consi matches, Cassioppi did not allow a point and dominated to third place with wins over Hilger and Schultz.
During his time at Iowa, Cassioppi has gone 30-6, with all six losses coming either to Steveson or Parris. 12 of those wins have come via fall and he's amassed bonus points in over 62% of his bouts, which is excellent for a heavyweight.
Strengths: Cassioppi has heavy hands and is a very strong handfighter. Like many big men, Cassioppi's best leg attack is a snatch single. He has been known to go after Hi-C's, too. True to his Greco background, Cassioppi can hit throws from an over/under position. Many heavyweights are unable to keep quality opponents on the mat. Cassioppi isn't one of those guys. He is capable of racking up minutes of riding time. Typically he looks for a wrist and will pull it out for a bar or hammerlock.
2021-22 Outlook: Right now, it seems like Cassioppi is on a tier by himself. He is 0-6 in college against Steveson/Parris and has given up bonus points in four of those six matches. At the same time, he is unbeaten against the rest of the field. Recent pictures of Cassioppi suggest he has put in immense effort in the weight room and has transformed his physique. Could that be enough to close the gap between him and the returning national finalists, as well as holding off freshmen like Kerkvliet and Schultz?
2021 NCAA All-American Tony Cassioppi (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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