One field event performer who is capable of doing several events on a track and field team is headed to upstate New York to represent his high school against the top teams and individuals from the state in what is known as the New York State Championships.
Pascal Bastien, a senior at Baldwin High School in Long Island, turned in a decent season during the winter on the indoor track and field team. He won both the long and triple jumps with leaps of 21-10 3/4 and 45-6 1/2, respectively in helping his high school to score 33 points and as a team Baldwin placed fourth in the Section VIII Class ‘A’ team championships at St. Anthony’s High School in Suffolk County.
There were 19 scoring schools in the boys meet which took about four hours in the evening.
He then advanced himself to compete in the same two events of the State Qualifier also at the same venue, but instead concentrated more on the triple jump than on the long. He won the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet 2 inches to earn a berth in the State Meet, the highlight and most prestigious meet of the year.
Bastien who originally comes from Haiti where he played some soccer moved with his family to Baldwin.
He turned in some tremendous performances during the course of the indoor season to light up some of the college coaches’ eyes.
“His performances are fantastic considering that he hasn’t been able to jump in about a week and a half because of the weather,” said Head Coach Rich Carroll after the senior won both events in the Class County meet.
“He’s a winner and prevailed tonight (in the Class ‘A’ Meet.) He won the triple jump and did a great job in the long jump. He’s a great kid and a great athlete. (And most important he qualified for the State Meet).”
Bastien is a two-sport athlete at Baldwin. He is also on its soccer team during the fall. He really likes soccer, but after the booter sport is finished, he switches over to indoor and then outdoor track.
“The adjustment from soccer to track works well for him, because there is a lot of running,” said Carroll, who doubles as a football coach during the fall. “When he does the triple and long jumps (in a meet), he works a lot. And he works out a lot in November and December on his steps.”
His strategy for both the long and triple jumps is form. “Form means speed,” said Bastien whose brother Richard did both events.
“Pascal is a very good athlete and can probably do the hurdles and throws, and the shot put and discus,” continued the coach. “He’s that good. He doesn’t know about college (as yet). He won’t continue with soccer, but will (stick) with track and field in college. He would like to go to a Division I college. His brother Richard went to LSU.”
Bastien has been playing soccer since he was a kid and is still doing it especially with his school team. Pascal and his family came from Haiti after the earthquake, but he is living with his aunt and uncle. He is four years on the team.
“We have a lot of good athletes who work hard and when you get a kid like Pascal, that’s once in a life-time because he’s a very, very easy kid to coach,” added Carroll, in his second year as head track and field coach at Baldwin. In addition to the jumps last week at St. Anthony’s, Pascal ran the second leg of the 4 x 400-meter relay and led the quartet to a second place close finish in the Class County ‘A’ meet, and the first leg of the 1600-meter relay in the State Qualifier. Baldwin won this event.
As for some other schools, Valley Stream North won the Class ‘B’ meet for ‘smaller enrollment’ schools and individually came up with decent performances, and Uniondale a Class ‘A’ team, is expected to bounce back in the spring or outdoor season with additional competitors on the roster.
