Payne to Compete in NCAA Indoor Championships
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
NCAA Championship Central
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin's Demi Payne will seek to become the first NCAA champion in SFA track and field history this Saturday evening when she heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete in the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The women's pole vault competition is set to start at 5:30 p.m. on the second of the two-day meet, which is held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on campus of the University of Arkansas.
Payne owns the best height cleared this year out of the 16 other women competing in the event. Arkansas' Sandi Morris, who held the NCAA record for less than 24 hours before Payne first claimed the NCAA's best height on Jan. 17 in Texas A&M, along with 2014 NCAA indoor champion Kaitlin Petrillose (Texas), will be two of Payne's biggest challengers in the field.
"I think the biggest thing is to stay focused," said Payne. "I've been doing well this whole season so I really want to finish it off. Sandi and Kaitlin are great competitors, and it's a really strong field overall. I know they're not going to give it up easy. It's going to be a complete dogfight and I think I just need to trust my coach and trust myself - I really don't have to change anything at this point. I just need to go for it on Saturday evening and see what happens. I'm really looking forward to it."
Payne got the better of Morris on Feb. 7 in New Mexico while the top two collegiate vaulters in history cleared the same height (14-8.75) in the pair's only other meeting on Feb. 21 in a pre-NCAA tune-up in Fayetteville.
Saturday's championship event will cap a historic indoor season for the New Braunfels native. Payne broke the women's pole vault record three times in 2015, currently holding the best mark of 15-7 (4.75m) set on Jan. 24 at the New Mexico Lobo Collegiate Open. She has won six individual titles, most recently at the USA Track and Field Championships in Boston on March 1, while also setting five meet records in eight competitions. She owns the top mark in the U.S. this year and five of the top six marks in NCAA history overall.
With all of her awards and achievements in 2015, Payne enters the NCAA Championships as one of the favorites for The Bowerman Trophy - the most prestigious individual honor for collegiate track and field.
While Payne competed in the NCAA Championships and earned All-America honors while attending Kansas, a championship title would be the first for her as well as the SFA track and field program.
"Transferring to SFA was the greatest move that I could have ever made," said Payne. "I couldn't have picked a better school and I'm incredibly thankful to be here. The whole community and my coaches and teammates are all so amazing. I want to bring home this championship for Stephen F. Austin."
Fans can watch all of the women's pole vault final on ESPN3while getting more information on tickets, live results and more at the NCAA Championship Central page here.
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