High School South senior Nikhil Pulimood and junior Tim Bason have been among the state’s top distance runners for the last several seasons, and the pair proved that again at the Meet of Champions on June 3 in South Plainfield.
Even before the meet started, South boys’ track and field head coach Kurt Wayton expected strong finishes from the two runners.
“They’d had phenomenal workouts, and Tim has had a couple real glimpses of greatness throughout the season,” Wayton said. “I think that they both had a good chance at winning going into it.”
Though neither Pirate runner won at the MoC, Bason and Pulimood both placed. Bason finished third in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:12.23, while his teammate Pulimood’s two-mile time of 9:00.86 earned him second place.
“It’s an easy race to get wrong, the Meet of Champions,” Wayton said. “There’s so many variables. Everybody’s really good so you really have to just relax, go out there, and throw the cards on the table. They certainly did that. They showed incredible bravery and courage.”
The successful results followed a difficult Group 4 championship, where Bason and Pulimood raced against some of the best runners in the state. Bason finished fifth in the mile with a time of 4:17.23, while Pulimood took the title with a time of 4:12.82.
Duke University-bound Pulimood is in his senior season, while Bason is a junior. The runners form a power pair for South distance, but this success wasn’t foreseeable when they joined the team as freshmen, Wayton said.
“I wouldn’t think that anybody looked at these two guys as a freshman and said ‘They’re going to be among the state’s best,’” he said. “They just kept doing the right thing [and] plugging away. They’ve matured physically, they’ve matured emotionally.”
For South’s runners, day-to-day choices of eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and being disciplined have helped with their success.
“It’s not the kind of sport where you can fall back on your talent. So much of it is dependant upon the day to day healthy choices that one makes,” Wayton said. “He could be the most talented runner in world, it’d never amount to anything if you don’t have strong character. Both of those kids have incredibly strong character, great family structure, and again they really pay attention to being consistent.”
Although Pulimood and Bason are both successful distance runners, succeeding at the mile and beyond, they differ on and off the track. Wayton said Pulimood is very serious and studious, while Bason is “goofy” and more lighthearted.
But the different dynamics work.
“I think they really feed off one another,” Wayton said. “Tim keeps it lighter and Nikhil keeps both of them on a very tight track.”
Each runner’s success has come from different attributes. For Pulimood, it’s consistency and endurance more than talent, but for Bason it’s about speed.
“[Pulimood] doesn’t have a lot of foot speed but he can really bang out the longer distances. Tim, he’s just really a well-balanced athlete. He’s got incredible form and biomechanics, so he has all the tools. He’s got more than sufficient leg speed. He’s very efficient at a given pace,” Wayton said.
Both, though, are “very coachable,” Wayton added. They are two pillars of South’s program.
Part of being a part of South’s track program includes afterschool practices and stretching and running for hours once classes are over.
It’s a grueling schedule, especially for Bason and Pulimood – who run cross country, indoor and outdoor track. It’s non-stop running with only a two-week break.
“It’s really our consistency that I think sets us apart from other programs,” Wayton said. “I say, ‘Easy is a four letter word. There are no easy days.’ So each and every day is an opportunity to advance their fitness, character, work ethic. We have a lot of fun but not at the deficit of our overall goals which is to turn out a great product each and every year.”
Boys’ Track
The South boys placed sixth as a team at the state Group IV championship on May 29 and 30 in Egg Harbor.
1,600 meters: 1. Nikhil Pulimood, 4:12.82; 5. Tim Bason, 4:17.73. 3,200 meters: 2. Pulimood, 9:14.67. 4×800 meters: 4. Bason, Pulimood, Zach Crossey, Christian Sorenson, 7:55.96.
The North boys’ placed 18th as a team at the Group IV meet.
1,600 meters: 4. Kian Jackson, 4:16.78. Long jump: 5. Owners, 22’5.25”.
North and South athletes advanced to the Meet of Champions on June 3 at South Plainfield.
1,600 meters: 3. Bason (South), 4:12.23; 6. Jackson (North), 4:15.22. 3,200 meters: 2. Pulimood (South), 9:00.86. 4×800 meters: 23. South (Bason, Zabih Kotecha, Niall Clancey, Sam Williams), 8:12.57. Long jump: 4. Owens (North), 21’11.25”; 21. Aarthreya Thuppul (North), 20’8.5”.
Girls’ Track
The South girls placed fifth as a team at the state Group IV championship on May 29 and 30 in Egg Harbor. No North athletes had top-six finishes at the meet
800 meters: 5. Edlyn Gulama, 2:14.71. 1,600 meters: 1. Deirdre Casey, 4:53.61; 2. Christina Rancan, 4:54.95. 3,200 meters: 1. Rancan, 10:58.46. 4×400 meters: 5. Edlyn Gulama, Edwina Gulama, Casey, Kathryn Schoenauer, 4:00.83. 4×800 meters: 1. Casey, Edlyn Gulama, Katie Kullmann, Rancan, 9:07.49.
Several South athletes advanced to the Meet of Champions on June 3 at South Plainfield.
1,600 meters 3. Rancan, 4:52.21, 7. Casey, 4:55.88. 4×800 meters: 2. South, 9:14.98. 100 meter hurdles: 13. Schoenauer, 15.04. Long jump: 19. Schoenauer, 16’11.25”.
