Bastian continues junior season in the pool

Swimming without fans in the stands, Bahamian swimmer Izaak Bastian continued his junior season for the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles in a dual contest against the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs this past Saturday in Seminoles territory in Tallahassee, Florida.

Bastian swam four events and finished with a first and second place finish in the relays races and two third place finishes in his individual races.

The multiple record holder at CARIFTA helped his men’s team record a convincing 201.50-97.50 victory over the Horned Frogs.

The first-place finish came in the men’s 200-yard medley relay in which Bastian and his Seminoles ‘A’ team swam a time of 1:27.50. His teammates were freshman Mason Herbert, and sophomores Domen Demsar and Peter Varjasi. Bastian’s split in that relay was 24.95 seconds. Second place went to the Horned Frogs in a time of 1:29.58, and rounding out the top three was the Seminoles ‘B’ team in a time of 1:29.89.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Bahamian helped the Seminoles ‘B’ team to a second place in a time of 1:21.31. He swam the first leg and split 21.07 seconds. The other teammates were sophomore Aziz Ghaffari, Herbert and Demsar. The Seminoles ‘A’ team won the race in a time of 1:20.76. The Horned Frogs ‘A’ team finished third in 1:21.34.

In the 100-yard breast, Bastian was third with a time of 55.32 seconds. His splits were 25.95 and 29.37 seconds. Finishing first was Horned Frogs’ sophomore Vitauts Silins with a time of 53.97 seconds, earning a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI) ‘B’ cut qualifying time. Silins’ teammate Hugh McPherson, a junior, finished second just ahead of Bastian with a time of 55.25 seconds.

The 200-yard breast top three positions was the same order as that of the 100-yard breast. Bastian’s time in that event was 2:00.26. His splits were 27.27, 30.50, 31.28 and 31.21 seconds. Silins swam a winning time of 1:57.53 to achieve the NCAA DI ‘B’ qualifying time. McPherson recorded a second-place finish with a time of 1:59.73.

None of Bastian’s individual times was near his personal best times. It is early in the season and as the season progresses, he is expected to improve and to drop times.

The Olympic hopeful returned to pool action yesterday at the University of Georgia Bulldogs Fall Invite at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia.

He swam in the 100-yard freestyle yesterday morning, finishing with the 15th fastest qualifying time of 20.74 seconds. His seed time was 21.07 seconds, and he shaved 33 seconds off that time. He swam in last night’s session but the result was unavailable up to press time.

The three-day meet continues today and wraps up tomorrow. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the hosts are the other participating teams.

The dual against the Horned Frogs was Bastian’s second meet of the year. The first meet was another home dual, that one against the Yellow Jackets back on November 7. Bastian helped his Seminoles men’s team to a 152-147 victory in that meet.

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