Thiara made Sierra school history with sixth in state hurdles

Bikram Thiara prefers an inside lane in the 300-meter hurdles. Better, he says, to gauge his competition.

“I like to run at my own pace,” he said. “I conserve energy and run at the pace I want to run. I trust it.”

Thiara, Sierra High’s elite hurdler, doesn’t mind chasing down opponents one by one. It’s why he reached the CIF State Track and Field Championships and, to the surprise of virtually everyone, became the first track athlete in Sierra history to earn a medal with his sixth-place finish at Clovis.

“I pushed myself as far as possible,” he said. “But in the back of my mind I wondered, ‘Could I really do it?’ ”

Thiara did it, all right. That’s why he is The Bee’s choice as Boys Track Athlete of the Year.

His season was perfectly weighted. How else to explain his personal-best times in his final three races? That said, his dropping times alone fail to capture his mojo as an athlete. It’s his inner fire that separates him from the rest.

“He’s very competitive,” Sierra track coach Ezequiel Ruiz said. “Every single time we got him in a big meet, he always said, ‘I can run with those guys.’ And every single time he went out there and proved it.”

Just to qualify for state, Thiara overtook five hurdlers in the final 100 meters for his important third-place finish at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters finals (38.09).

A week later at the state trials, he squeezed into the finals field with an overall seventh (38.05). In the title race, he was next to last at the turn before he kicked into his special gear. Not only did he earn a spot on the podium, he also broke 38 seconds for the first time (37.82).

“He totally exceeded our expectations,” Ruiz said. “He came out on fire Friday night (at state) and outdid himself Saturday night.”

Not bad for an athlete who performed under the radar most of the spring. He was outshined by Kimball junior Deion Lightfoot-Shelton, who beat Thiara in the intermediate hurdles in the Valley Oak League finals. Lightfoot-Shelton eventually placed second in the state in the 110 hurdles. Earlier, Thiara cemented his underdog status with a modest fourth at the Section Division II/III meet.

“They’re good friends and Bikram always pushed himself to catch up to Deion,” Ruiz said. “I think he was catching up with him toward the end of the season.”

Thiara, a two-sport athlete, shares equal passion for basketball. He started at guard for the Timberwolves as a junior. In fact, he worked out with the basketball team the day after he earned his state medal.

“I love both sports,” Thiara said. “I never thought I’d pursue a career in track in college. Now I’m thinking about running track in college and hurdling, especially.”

Noveleen Thiara, an older brother and a Sierra graduate, is a sprinter at Cal State Stanislaus. Another influence was Sierra grad Nick Valdez, who qualified for both hurdles races at Section Masters as a senior while Thiara served his hurdles apprenticeship as a freshman.

Clearly, the younger Thiara has charted his own course. Moments after his medal performance at state, he received congratulations from a Sierra contingent that included Athletic Director Anthony Chapman and Principal Steve Clark. He also took note of something else: The winning time of 36.34 by La Quinta grad Koty Burton.

“I can get into the 36s next year,” Thiara predicted. “I’m going to work hard and get it all out of me. It was a great feeling being on that podium. It makes me want to get back there.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Thiara made Sierra school history with sixth in state hurdles."