Yonger Bastida

Yonger Pauli Bastida Pomares (born August-September, 1999)[1] is a Cuban freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 97 and 92 kilograms. In 2019, he became a U23 World Championship medalist (92 kg), the Junior World Championship runner-up (97 kg) and the Junior Pan American Champion (92 kg), also claiming a senior level Cerro Pelado International silver medal (97 kg, in 2019 and 2020). Despite no folkstyle experience, Bastida was recruited by the Iowa State Cyclones and is competing at 197 pounds in 2020-21.[2] As of January 26, 2021, Bastida is the #31-ranked 197-pound NCAA wrestler in the country as per The Open Mat.[3]

Yonger Bastida

Personal information
Full name	Yonger Pauli Bastida Pomares
Nationality	Cuban
Born	Trinidad, Cuba
Weight	97 kg (214 lb) 197 lb (89 kg)
Sport
Country	Cuba
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle Folkstyle
College team	Iowa State Cyclones
Coached by	Kevin Dresser
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  Cuba U23 World Championships 2019 Budapest 92 kg Junior World Championships 2019 Tallin 97 kg Junior Pan American Championships 2019 Guatemala City 92 kg

Freestyle career

Cuba

Born in Trinidad, Cuba, Bastida became one of the most promising prospects in his native country in 2019, when he broke into the international scene.[4] His first competition came on the senior level on February, at the '19 Cerro Pelado International, where he took runner-up honors to three-time World Championship medalist Reineris Salas, after defeating '17 US Open National champion and '15 NCAA champion Kyven Gadson.[5] Next, he dropped down to 92 kilograms and claimed a Junior Pan American title on June[6] before once again bumping up a weight class to compete at the Junior World Championships of September, where he claimed a silver medal.[1] A recently-turned 20 year old, Bastida once again dropped down to 92 kilos, competing at the '19 U23 World Championship, where he compiled a fall and two technical falls to reach the semifinals, falling to Russia's Batyrbek Tsakulov and claiming the bronze medal afterwards to close the year.[7] At the Senior level Cerro Pelado International of February of 2020, Bastida competed for the last time as a Cuban resident, scoring a notable victory over '15 US University National champion Hayden Zillmer before falling to two-time World Champion and '16 Olympic Bronze medalist J'den Cox.[8] Bastida was considered to be amongst the contenders for an '20 (21) Olympic spot before moving to the United States.[9]

Folkstyle career

On November of 2020, it was announced that Bastida had been recruited by the Iowa State University as an international student.[10]

2020-21

Bastida earned the varsity spot when he defeated two-time Iowa (IHSAA) state champion Cody Fisher, via major decision (9-1).[11] He is currently competing as a freshman at 197 pounds, and holds a 3–2 record in his first folkstyle matches ever.[12]

Freestyle record

Junior freestyle record

NCAA record

Stats

[12]

References

1. "Yonger Bastida: Estoy contento con mi resultado". Escambray (in Spanish). 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
2. "Yonger Bastida - Wrestling". Iowa State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
3. Smith, Earl (2021-01-26). "NCAA DI College Individual Rankings - January 26th, 2021". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
4. "Gladiador trinitario Yonger Bastida en Gala Nacional de la Lucha cubana – Radio Trinidad Digital" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-03.
5. "Luchadores de Trinidad de Cuba, segundos en Gala de Campeones – Radio Trinidad Digital" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-03.
6. "Yonger Bastida en la cúspide del Panamericano Juvenil de Lucha – Radio Trinidad Digital" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-03.
7. "Trinitario Yonger Bastida se baña de bronce en mundial de lucha de Budapest – Radio Trinidad Digital" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-03.
8. [email protected], Sam Stuve. "Iowa State Wrestling adds Yonger Bastida to roster". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
9. "Iowa State adds Cuban two-time age-group World medalist Yonger Bastida of Cuba". Team USA. November 30, 2020.
10. Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa State signs Yonger Bastida, a Junior world medalist from Cuba". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
11. [email protected], Sam Stuve. "Iowa State wresting begins its 2020-21 season with wrestle-offs". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
12. Wrestlestat.com. "Yonger Bastida". WrestleStat. Retrieved 2021-01-03.

External links

• Yonger Bastida at United World Wrestling