Yonger Bastida

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.[3] He competed at the senior level 2019 Cerro Pelado International where he took runner-up honors to three-time World Championship medalist Reineris Salas, after previously defeating US Open and NCAA National champion Kyven Gadson.[4] Next, he dropped down to 92 kilograms and claimed a Junior Pan American title in June[5] 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 2019 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.[6] At the 2020 Cerro Pelado International, Bastida competed for the last time as a Cuban resident, scoring a notable victory over US University National champion Hayden Zillmer before falling to two-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox.[7] Bastida was considered to be amongst the contenders for a 2020 Olympic spot before moving to the United States.[8]

Bastida earned the varsity spot at first when he defeated two-time Iowa (IHSAA) state champion Cody Fisher, via major decision (9–1).[10] As a freshman at 197 pounds, he started off with an undefeated 3–0, but went on to compile an overall 4–4 record in his first folkstyle matches ever.[11] After starting in regular season, Bastida was not chosen for the post-season and Marcus Coleman was started instead.[12]

Bastida made huge improvements for his sophomore season, and got his first major win over third-ranked Jacob Warner from Iowa while ranked the twenty-fourth in the country himself.[4] His next big upset came in the last dual of the season against Missouri, where he beat sixth-ranked Rocky Elam.[5] Going into the post-season with a 17–3 record, Bastida placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships.[7] At the NCAA National Championships, he started off beating reigning Junior World Champion Braxton Amos from Wisconsin, before being knocked off by Elam. In the consolation bracket, Bastida got four wins, including rival Jake Woodley from Oklahoma and Greg Bulsak from Rutgers, before being beat by Stephan Buchanan from Wyoming. Bastida pinned his opponent in the fifth-place match, finishing the season as an All-American.[3]

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