By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Even though he was several hundred miles away at the time of the race, West Windsor-Plainsboro High South distance coach Kurt Wayton had a feeling Tim Bason was in for a big day at the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. on June 19.
“You really can’t make this stuff up,” Wayton said. “The morning of the race I’m up here and he’s down at the meet and he sends me text message two hours before race and says. ‘Coach, this one for you’. I made a face and kind of laughed. But when I saw that I thought he is ready and confident.
“Two hours later he sends me a text and says, ‘I told you this one for you.’ He knew something special was happening going into it. He is that kind of kid. Sometimes before a race he just knows he is going to do something special.”
Bason certainly did something special in his final high school meet. In his final race as a Pirate, Bason won the Championship mile in 4:11.89, which converted to a new school record.
“It was a very exciting day,” Bason said. “I was really happy with how I finished my season as Pirate. It was my last high school race and I wanted it to be a good one. I didn’t do too well at the Meet of Champions, so my mentality was to move on after that race and focus on what I had ahead of me.
“(Wayton) told me I have to race my race and do what I have done in the past. I followed his advice. He gave me and Christina (Rancan) workouts and runs and said we could do something special.”
Rancan, who was also running in her last race as a Pirate, finished seventh in the girls mile in 4:46.98. The two runners had big meets to cap off their high school careers.
“Tim didn’t win sectionals even though he ran great,” Wayton said. “He doesn’t win groups even though he ran great. And he doesn’t win at the Meet of Champs because he didn’t execute race plan.
“I think other coaches and parents don’t realize the reason I get frustrated and they think maybe I am asking too much of these kids. But after 17 years, I know what these kids are capable of and I knew Tim was capable of doing amazing things, which he has. He is one of our all-time greatest and he is national champion caliber. He has all the tools. He just needed to get into a race and execute. I look at it as it was an A-plus-plus performance. What wonderful way to go out. He and Christina both ran great.”
Bason will head to North Carolina State next month to begin a collegiate career that he hopes goes as well as his high school career. He made great strides in his four years in the program to become one of the program’s elite runners.
“I think it was after the county meet in cross country my sophomore year that I started to feel like I could do well,” Bason said. “I ran a pretty good time and I got 11th place at the county race. I was really happy with my time. After that other guys in the top 10 said you could really be something and I followed the path they set. I’ve followed my elders. I had Nikhil (Pulimood) there and some of the other guys and they really helped me.
“To be honest, I could not have gotten this far without (Wayton’s) guidance. He is like a second father to me. He always had a great plan and tells everyone if they follow it they can be great. If you have the will to finish it off it is there for you.”
Bason’s time from the New Balance meet equates to a 4:10.25, which is a new standard for the Pirates. Rancan also set a new school mark as her time equates to a 4:45.1.
“It’s wonderful for him and the program,” Wayton said. “He has been a great ambassador for the program. I can’t say enough great tongs about the kid. I have always said that in our program, if you are going to be really good, you’ll do it the last year and a half. Before that we are just building.
“I can talk about it myself over and over. But when kids back it up like Tim and Christina do what they did this year, it really shows the younger kids what can happen.”
Bason will head to North Carolina State coming off of his finest performance as a Pirate. And he knows that down the line, there will be others ready to step in and become the next in a long line of great runners.
“We have a couple freshmen that are going into their sophomore year that I believe can be really great if they put the work in,” Bason said.
Those younger runners has a great example to follow in Bason, who leaves the program with a national title.
