Most people are a little intimidated by men who work in prisons, but Tim Bason has no problem throwing at least one of them under the bus.
The High School South senior didn’t mince words as to why he had a tough outing this past winter at the NJSIAA Indoor Meet of Champions. He pointed straight to Ray Bason, who works at the Middlesex County Correctional Facility.
“My dad gave me the flu,” Bason said with a laugh. “He said he didn’t have it, but he did, and he gave it to me.”
Fortunately for all involved, the younger Bason was able to recover and return to the same glory this spring that he enjoyed during cross country in the fall. Then again, winter wasn’t too shabby up until his health issues. The flu slowed him late in the winter season and early in the spring.
“He got horribly ill in indoor track, got a real bad flu virus,” Pirates coach Kurt Wayton said. “Those viruses take months to work their way out of the system. Right about April he started to look and feel really strong. Since May he’s come into his own.”
In qualifying for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions this past Wednesday, June 8, in the 1600, Bason has come tantalizingly close the school record of 4:10.28.
He finished second in the June 4 Group IV meet with a time of 4:10.3, and was hoping to break the mark at the MOC.
“I think I did pretty well this spring. I’m happy with what I’ve been able to accomplish,” Bason said before the meet. “I’m still trying to get under 4:10 for the mile.” Bason came up short at the Meet of Champions, finishing 10th in 4:17.39. Bason’s classmate, Christina Rancan, finished third in the girls’ 1600 in 4:53.06. Kathryn Schoenauer finished 10th in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.9.
Bason grew up in Spotswood, where his mom, Mary, is a secretary in the guidance office at Spotswood High School. He played soccer in middle school but wasn’t enjoying it, and his brother suggested he try cross country in seventh grade.
“I just loved it from the start,” he said.
The Basons moved to West Windsor prior to Tim’s freshman year, and he quickly went out for a cross country program that had established itself as one of the best in the state.
“I didn’t even know too much of the reputation at the time,” Bason said. “I was kind of taken in by the seniors and they told me about the reputation. Ever since then I’ve been trying to give back to the younger guys what they gave to me.”
When Bason arrived at South, Wayton knew there was work to be done, but also knew that a powerful runner lay beneath a slight frame.
“He wasn’t even our best freshman. He was really underdeveloped,” the coach said. “He was very skinny in his growth spurt. But the one thing he has is amazing mechanics. He’s an American with the mechanics of an East African, He’s beyond smooth; he’s got that international look. I noticed that right away.”
Bason kept working and saw a big leap in his second season with the Pirates.
“I started to realize I had a lot of potential around my sophomore year,” he said. “My cross country began slow, but I dropped a lot of time and became our number four runner and stuck with it from there.”
Bason exploded into prominence as a junior, starting with a cross country season in which he finished second in the Mercer County Meet, third in Central Jersey Group IV, fifth in Group IV and ninth in the Meet of Champions.
That winter Bason was third in the 1600 in CJ IV and Group IV, and ninth in the MOC. In the spring he was second in the MCT, second in CJ IV, fifth in Group IV and third in the MOC. He ran his best post-season time of 4:12.23 in the Meet of Champs.
“Last year he had seasonal allergies; at the group meet he really had a tough time breathing,” Wayton said. “He had similar problem at sectionals. The rain knocked down the pollen for the Meet of Champions.”
Bason won the first major events of his career last fall, taking first in the Mercer Cross Country Meet in 15:42.69, and winning CJ IV in 15:39.23. He took third in Group IV and ninth in the MOC.
In the winter Bason took second in CJ III and won Group III in 4:19.28. But the flu hit, and Tim ran a 4:31.78 and finished 32nd in the Meet of Champions.
“I recovered in about two weeks,” Bason said. “But I still had everything in my system and it took about a month to clear it all out.”
It was gone in time for Bason to win the Mercer meet in the 1600 in 4:12.82 and take second in the 800. He also finished second in the CJ IV and Group IV meets, just missing the school mark in the group meet.
Heading into the Meet of Champs, Wayton said, “The goal is for him to break 4:10. We’ve had three guys reach that mark but none have gotten under it. So we’re hoping he can do it at Meet of Champions or at the Nationals.”
The coach feels one of Bason’s biggest strengths is “game day toughness,” which the runner possesses by taking everything in stride.
“I don’t think about races when I go into them,” Tim said. “I don’t think it’s a big race, or a dual meet. I just take it all the same.”
His attitude and talents have earned Bason a nice scholarship to North Carolina State, where he will major in criminology. He narrowed his choice from three schools, including Northeastern and Indiana State.
“I think he can run anything in college,” Wayton said. “He’s got really good speed but not tremendously great speed. He’s got really good endurance but doesn’t point to the two mile as much. He’s right in between with the special blend of speed, efficiency, and toughness.”
The coach feels that is all necessary in running the mile, calling it a four-act play in which “You need to have so many tools in the tool box. You can get away with some things in the 3200, but in the mile you can’t get away with anything. When you only have four minutes to race, you have to be bold, a little bit cagey and you have to be able to cover three or four good moves.”
Just don’t ask Bason about his game plan.
“I don’t really know how I approach it, I just kind of run it to be honest,” he said. “I try to take the first eight (800 meters) out at a good pace. After the first pace it’s just stick and go from there.”
After sticking it, he has been going at an impressive rate these last two years — except, of course, when that all-in-the-family flu gets in the way.
