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Payne already making mark with Redhawks

Seabury grad is coming off a seventh-place finish at WAC indoor championships

By Dakota Grossman 4 min read

Seabury Hall alum Isaiah Payne is off to a running start at Seattle University.

Last month, the Redhawks freshman made the final of the 200 meters at the Western Athletic Conference indoor track and field championships, finishing seventh with a time of 22.00 seconds.

"Didn't expect that. Not as a freshman," Payne said with a laugh via phone last week. "I really enjoyed indoor. I'm not sure why, but most people don't like it. It felt cool being able to run on a banked track. It was just a cool environment."

Seattle sprint coach Chad Pharis was not as surprised with Payne's performance.

"We knew he was definitely ready to make a final early on and the championships would show what he was able to do," Pharis said. "Didn't have the best lane draw but I told him it wouldn't actually affect him because he's a strong runner. He just went out and put everything out there and it was really fun to watch."

Payne also pushed his 1,600 relay team to a fifth-place finish at the WAC championships. His personal record in the indoor 60 is 6.96, which was set at the Last Chance College Elite meet the same month at the Washington-Dempsey facility. That mark ranks him the fastest on his team.

Competing at the NCAA Division I level is very different than the Maui Interscholastic League, Payne added, but after exploring Seattle and having many phone and email conversations with the coaches, he knew SU would be a good fit.

"Definitely a bigger range of competition," he said. "You not only go against people in your conference, but you go against Olympians, professionals, people from every school. It also helps you get better."

At Seabury, Payne starred both on the track and the basketball court. He holds the MIL championship records for both the 100 and 200 with the times 10.81 and 21.82, respectively. He also earned MIL Boys Basketball Division II Player of the Year honors in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and was also named Seabury Hall's Male Athlete of the Year in 2018.

"I liked switching it up," he said of playing multiple sports in high school. "But doing (just track) helps me muscle-wise, just to focus on what I need to get stronger, so that I don't get injured."

And staying healthy is something he's especially focusing on. He had a history of injury throughout high school, including a hamstring injury that forced him out of the state championships last year. At the time, Seattle coaches said they were still impressed with his mid-season times and his driven attitude.

"I told myself it was just a little bump in the road. Because in order to succeed, you have to fail, which includes injuries and includes other setbacks," Payne said. "But having the mindset thinking about how good you can be when you come back and what you're going to do to be better rather than focusing on the injury itself, that helped me."

Earlier this month, Payne's younger brother, Noah, ran a 10.79 in the 100 at the MIL's Yamamoto Invitational, surpassing Isaiah's personal record. With some brotherly competition, they always push each other to run faster, Isaiah Payne said.

"He deserves it, congrats to him. As long as he doesn't break another record of mine," Payne said with a laugh.

After a successful first indoor season with SU, Payne will now focus on the 100 in outdoor. By the end of the year, Payne hopes to drop his 100 times down to 10.5 seconds and his 200 times to 21.0.

"He's somebody that doesn't let hard work scare him, at least he doesn't tell anybody," Pharis said. "He's just someone that's day-in and day-out. Just his consistency and work ethic. That was evident from the first day he showed up. I think the team is really responsive to that."

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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