J.P. Stevens' Buntin is Home News Tribune Indoor Track Athlete of the Year

It was the season-opening meet, and all the hours of preparation and all that grueling training led up to this moment on one of track and field’s oldest and grandest stages.

If there were any opening-day jitters or hint of pressure, however, Nadale Buntin wasn’t showing it. In fact, J.P. Stevens’ star sprinter was loose and ready to go before the start of the Track Universe High School Invitational at The Armory Track & Field Center in New York.

“The music is playing and he is literally dancing on the starting line,” said coach Joe Rovito, laughing. “He finished second in that race. That day, he had three first-place finishes and one second-place finish. I know him. I know that when he’s doing that, he’s loose, he’s comfortable. It’s almost like you would worry if he wasn’t dancing.”

Buntin’s prerace moves and his subsequent performance at that meet in December should have been clues that he was in for a big season.

The Home News Tribune Boys Indoor Track Athlete of the Year finished second in the 400 at the Meet of Champions, .27 seconds behind Franklin star Mario Heslop. Buntin also won the 400 at the GMC Championships. Buntin was second in the 400 at the state Group IV meet and third in the 400 at the North 2 Group IV sectional meet.

The senior credits a big change in his training for his success.

At Rovito’s behest, Buntin began training in the 800 – an event he ran once in a meet and disliked it so much he asked his coaches to never enter him in it again. Actually, in his words, he “hated it. Hated it. Hated it.” Rovito, however, assured Buntin that this would eventually help him lower his time in the 400.

“At first, I was like, ‘Man this isn’t going to help me,’” Buntin said. “After the GMC championship, I was like, ‘This is actually working.’”

It all culminated in his performance at the Meet of Champions. Buntin said it was gratifying because when he watched a video of his performance later on, he could detect a hint of surprise in the announcer’s voice.

“When I rewatch the videos, (the announcer) was like, ‘From J.P. Stevens,’ and I can hear the weirdness in his voice,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Wait. J.P. Stevens? Stevens just got second in the whole state? Wait, what do you mean?’ I think I surprised a lot of people in the state because they didn’t expect me to come this far.”

No one was surprised by Buntin’s continued strong work ethic, infectious enthusiasm and ferocious competitiveness. Those qualities have always made him a natural leader on the team. But being the only senior among the sprinters, he saw an opportunity to become a mentor to the next generation coming up behind him. That includes his brother, Maran, a freshman. One of Buntin’s proudest moments this winter came in January, when he combined with Maran, freshman Charles Dixsoin and junior Kenyon Fenderson to place second in the 4 X 200 at the county relays.

“I push all of them,” Buntin said. “I try to get the best out of them. Especially the days before meets or that week of a big meet. I’m like, ‘OK guys, this is a big meet. We have to push. No trying to get out of it. You’re not getting out of this workout today.’ I push every last one of them, especially my brother. My brother doesn’t get any handouts, either. I’m very excited to come back and see them run because I’m excited to see what they can do.”

Just as the younger Hawks look up to Buntin, he looks up to his mom. Carolyn George is her son’s biggest fan. She was there on Saturday as Buntin finished 17th in the 400 and first in the triple jump (emerging elite category) at the New Balance Nationals in New York.

The ability to rise to the occasion in these big meets, he says, is a trait he gets from his mom. She has taught him to never back down from a challenge, whether it’s on the track or the football field.

“My mom has no fear of anything because she tackles everything head-on because she’s a single mom,” Buntin said. “She’s got three kids – I have two other siblings. Everything I get from her. Plus, I’m playing football I’m going against guys way bigger than me and I have to go out there and perform and I always perform to the best of my abilities.”

Buntin harbors mixed feelings as his time at J.P. Stevens comes to a close. He is excited to join the team at Rider next fall, but leaving behind his teammates at J.P. Stevens will be hard. At least he knows he gave them an indoor season to remember, even if it almost started in disaster at the at the Track Universe meet.

“My headphones had broken,” Buntin said. “I reached in my bag and they had been destroyed. I had to get loose somehow because I can’t live without my music. I was tearing my hair out without that music playing. Then I heard the music they were playing in the Armory and I started to get loose. If it wasn’t there, I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t remember the song, but it was familiar and I was getting into. I was trying to get my head into it before the race.”