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

Joe Riggi remembers  a quiet moment he shared with Nadale Buntin, when the J.P. Stevens coach and the senior track star reflected on how the past four years had flown by almost as fast as Buntin blazing down the track in the 200.

“We’ve had a bond since his freshman year,” Riggi said. “And then going to Meet of Champions and being on the field with him, and putting my arm around him and telling him how proud I am of him. It’s like you’re talking to your son. He became that kind of kid to me. It was like a father-son relationship and to me, he put his arm around me and said, ‘We did this together.’ That was pretty cool.”

READ: J.P. Stevens' Buntin wins four gold medals at sectionals

Buntin’s final season was filled with victories and memories.

At the Greater Middlesex Conference meet in May, he won the 200, 400 and the triple jump and finished third in the long jump. Later that month, he won gold in those four events at the North 2, Group IV sectional.  A week later, he won the triple jump and took second in the 200 and 400 at the Group IV meet.

The Home News Tribune Boys Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year capped a brilliant career with a silver medal in the triple jump, a bronze in the 200 meters and a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the Meet of Champions. Not only was it a rare occurrence that an athlete would finish in the top five in the state in three events, but his second-place finish in the triple jump was the best performance by a GMC boy.

Asked if he could have predicted such success for Buntin four years ago, Riggi said, “Definitely not.” Riggi said Buntin was a scrawny but fun-loving kid who didn’t know the limits of his potential and wasn’t especially focused on unlocking them.

READ: Big day for Stevens' Nadale Buntin at Meet of Champions with three top-five finishes

As the years passed, however, Riggi said he got bigger, stronger, faster and more determined. Riggi watched him blossom not only on the track but also on the gridiron.

As a senior, he approached Riggi and asked him for his help in making the leap from high school to college.

“His senior year, he matured,” Riggi said. “He said, ‘OK, we can do this. I can do this. Let’s get this done. I’m all in.’ He bought in to everything. He wants to go to college to run and asked, ‘What do I have to do to get to that level.’ He matured on that level and it helped him tremendously.”

Buntin was pushed along this season by his younger brother, Naran, and other members of the freshman and sophomore classes. They would challenge Buntin almost daily in practice, forcing Buntin to stay on his toes.

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

All the hard work paid off. Buntin is heading to Monmouth University and a new set of challenges.

It has been a bittersweet time for Riggi. Part of him wishes Buntin could stay at J.P. Stevens forever and win race after race. The other part of him, however, is happy to see his student move on.

“It was like, ‘Go spread your wings. They’re going to show you things I couldn’t show you, and you’re going to come back and let me know everything they’re teaching you there, so we can make the next generation better,’ Riggi said. “He said, ‘Don’t worry, Coach. I will always come back.’”