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Brotherly love: Paynes take a final lap at Seattle University

By Dakota Grossman 6 min read

It's still settling in for Isaiah and Noah Payne that they are wrapping up their final season with the NCAA Division I Seattle University men's track and field team after competing and training together since childhood.

Among the fastest sprinters to come out of the Maui Interscholastic League, the Payne brothers have had their fair share of MIL records and titles while wearing the Seabury Hall uniform, but most importantly, they've had many shared memories of training, cooking, traveling, sibling rivalries and everything in between.

Now, both their names are in SU's top-10 indoor and outdoor performance lists. Noah majors in kinesiology and Isaiah in business management, and both have been Academic All-Western Athletic Conference awardees several times throughout their careers, too.

"We don't just train together, we live together here, we travel together, we eat together, and now that I know that it's my last year, truthfully it's really hard to talk about because I'm going to miss it all," said Isaiah, a fifth-year senior. "It's definitely an experience that I'll never forget with him... . To share experiences like Hayward Field and being on the track at the same time and walking through the tunnel and all that, that's something I'll never forget."

Noah, who's finishing his senior season, said Tuesday morning via phone that he'll definitely miss it all as well.

"I don't have to call him or send him a text and say, 'Oh look where I am,' because he's here next to me through it all," he said.

Some memories that stand out to Noah the most are when Isaiah finished first and he finished second in the 100-meter dash at the 2018 MIL track and field championship or when he happened to toe the line side-by-side with Isaiah in his very first collegiate meet.

"I really kind of cherish that memory now because I don't know how that happened, but it was really cool to be a part of," Noah said.

The duo recently wrapped up their final WAC Indoor Championships at The Podium in Spokane, Wash. There, Isaiah's 400-meter leg of the men's distance medley relay boosted his team to a victory, clocking a new school record time of 10 minutes, 0.1 seconds.

Seattle U's DMR also included Alex Franklin (1200), Matthew Holme (800) and Gus Harquail (1600).

"It was really fun for sure, and it was the last indoor championship, so it was great to leave it with a win," Isaiah said Monday evening.

Noah said he "really tried to cherish the time there" as he raced in his last indoor 60.

"I was just trying to take it all in," he said. "It was cool because Isaiah came back for another year, so we're both kind of finishing at the same time. We were also roommates on the trip, too, so it was a really cool experience."

Currently, Isaiah holds SU's fastest outdoor 200-meter time of 21.47 and is the second all-time best in the 100 with a 10.68. He also has the second-fastest time in program history in the indoor 200 with a 21.76.

Noah is SU's fifth fastest in the outdoor 100 with a 10.94.

Both brothers are on the school's top-10 list for the indoor 60, too. While on the same 400 relay, the Payne brothers helped the Redhawks run the program's fourth-fastest time of 41.69 in 2021.

"I think if you look at a lot of other records at other universities, you're not going to see brothers or sisters up in the record books, so it's definitely something special," Isaiah said.

Especially as their careers come to a close after running together for a long time, Noah said, "to see our names up there, it kind of shows how hard we had to work and the work paying off."

Though it still hasn't quite hit Isaiah that he's entering his final outdoor track season, he said the whole experience of living in a city, competing at the D-I level, working part time, going to school and all the small lessons in between has been unique and empowering.

"It made me feel a lot better about myself knowing I could run D-I and knowing that, with this last championship in the DMR, knowing that I can still compete at a high level and still be able to win," he said. "Just the amount of people you meet and get to compete with and all the places that they're from has definitely been interesting and unique."

Before they go, Isaiah wants to break his own school record in the outdoor 200 and pursue the longstanding 100 school record, which is a 10.59 held by Zach Stanfield since 2012. Noah hopes to get lifetime personal records in the 100 and 200.

The outdoor season begins mid-March.

The Payne brothers also want to help qualify SU's 400 relay team for the outdoor regional meet and/or claim a school record, which would be the last time they would compete together in the same event.

Ultimately, the brothers hope that their journey from the small island of Maui to Washington state will inspire the next generation of student-athletes to pursue their collegiate careers wherever they want to go.

"I really have pride that I'm from Maui and being able to compete at this level, which not many people have done, and so I definitely take pride in that," Noah said. "I definitely learned that I can handle more than I thought I could. Just being able to balance work and school and track, it's not an easy task by any means, and I wasn't exactly sure how I would fit into everything, but I learned that I could handle more, and just being adaptable to situations."

To any student-athlete looking to compete after high school, the Paynes have some words of advice.

"Everything is going to seem difficult at first, it's definitely not easy, and it's going to seem like the odds are against you because you're from Maui and there's not always too many coaches looking there, but just try to get your name out, try to apply to all these places and just keep working at it," Isaiah said. "If you really want it, nothing can stop you. If you really want it, if you work hard for it and you train and trust the process that your coaches are telling you, you'll be golden, you'll make it."

Noah said: "Don't count yourself out. It is possible if you put in the work and if you really trust in your training and trust in your coaches that they can take you to the next level, and really be willing to work is huge, willing to put in all that work and believe you can do it, that'll take you far as you believe you can go."

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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