By Jeff Powalisz
The setting was more than perfect for Idris Payne.
Running in front of his home crowd in New York City at the Great Dane Classic on Jan. 18, the thriving junior sprinter prepared for the anchor run of his team’s 4×400-meter relay race.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, a fourth-place finish was in the works against the talents of Temple University, Rider University and winter rival the University of Albany. What coach Sherman Hart knew, alongside his young team and in front of a bustling crowd, was that these are the types of meets that define the New York City native and Fordham Prep graduate.
Payne received the handoff from freshman Christian Tirella and kicked into the gear many familiar with the team are now accustomed to. Hurt hamstring aside, Payne’s full-fledged effort passed two runners, and then entering the final straightaway, put the team in first-place for good at 3:19.00.
“Idris is usually the last to go in meets,” said fellow junior and thrower Derek Anderson. “The team will be running the 4×400 in a close meet, and I’ll be sitting there biting my lip waiting to watch Idris do what Idris does. He’s a tone-setter for sure. People on other teams are watching him all the time; they’re always keeping an eye open for him. If Idris runs his best, he puts us in a good spot.”
With eight wins in 10 individual races during the indoor season, including a Northeastern record of 46.71 in the 400 in winning the event at the New Balance Armory Invitational in New York City on Feb. 13-14, Payne’s success piled up week after week.
“For the men’s program, this is one of the best seasons any man has ever had,” Hart said. “He’s someone you can count on to get 10 to 20 points every time he goes out there. He’s better than 90 percent of the runners that have come here.”
At the Armory Invitational, Payne first competed in the preliminary rounds of the 400 and broke his own record of 47.06 in the 400 at 46.99, beating all other competitors. He returned in the finals, a determined spirit in the wake of eclipsing the 47-second barrier, and beat his closest competitor, Robert Frelow of Maryland, by more than a second, 46.71 to 47.76. For his efforts, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the prestigious meet.
“The biggest meet for Idris was the Armory meet,” Hart said. “He went out and did everything he was supposed to do and more. He set two records back to back, and was named the MVP of the meet. It was his defining moment as a college athlete.”
Payne noted everything was working in his favor that day.
“Running a 46.99 was the first time I broke 47 indoors,” he said. “I ran hard and I knew I could run harder tomorrow. My mom and dad came up and pushed me to run harder the next day. It was just a great feeling.”
Payne, whose primary event is the 400, also performs regularly in the 200 and 400 relay. He showcased his wide-ranging talent at the America East Championships held at Boston University on Feb. 7.
He set a Northeastern and meet record in the 200 at 21.45, stayed consistent in the 400 with a meet record and first-place time of 47.21 and anchored a third-place 4×400 team to a 3:17:34 finish.
“Idris came in the same time as me,” said junior sprinter Ahndraea Allen, who owns the school marks in the 200 and 400. “Everything we do is the same, he’s a mirror image of me and the way we work together, we’re like brother and sister. He’s a great influence to other athletes.”
The men’s team, with 14 freshmen and 12 sophomores, entered the indoor season as a very young team. Success piled on early and fast for the team, however, continuing into the current spring season.
Winning their dual meet against Harvard 82-62 on Jan. 10, the Huskies then placed second at the Great Dane Classic, fifth at New Hampshire with Holy Cross, and then won their significant home meet, the Adidas Boston Indoor Games. Payne’s leadership on the team during this time was vital, Anderson said.
“Lots of athletes look up to him,” he said. “He’s highly noticed and people look up to him and know what he’s done. He’s very influential to people on the team. To some people, he’s almost a god. He really has developed his leadership skills and has become a positive influence.”
Payne, who ended his winter season at the IC4A Championships with a fourth-place finish of 47.12 in the 400, sees his work ethic as highly integral in a conference like the America East.
“It takes a lot of commitment,” he said. “There are certain days when I won’t want to go to practice, but then I know that I need to go in order to be the best in the America East. I always see myself as the underdog and each time I run a time, I want to keep making it better, from 47.5 to 47.2 down to 47.1. I’m testing myself out there each time I run.”
The transition from running the 400 to the 200 is something Payne must work with each time he runs.
“I approach the 400 and 200 a lot differently,” he said. “In the 400, I’m there to get to the break line first, because I know I have enough strength to make a good push in the final run. In the 200, I look at it as just going out there and sprinting the whole way.”
Picking up right from where left off in the winter, Payne placed second in the 400 (47.60) and led the 4×400 to a first-place finish (3:17.49) at the March 20 Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla.
Veteran teammates like Anderson will always know the early days of Payne’s tenure at Northeastern, including his first season of 2001-02, and what the runner has turned into.
“He has earned everything he’s accomplished,” Anderson said. “He came in here as a scrawny little kid but ran hard, worked hard and progressed. There’s a lot to be said about everything he’s done. He’s a gifted kid and had the determination and drive to make something out of himself.”
After a race, it’s common to see Payne bent over, trying to rid himself of the pain he has just endured.
“Idris’ work ethic is definitely one of the most important things about him,” Hart said, noting that the runner will be an integral part of the team’s outdoor championship run. “He comes to practice and gives 100 percent and his attitude is a tremendous attribute. I remember him telling me early on, ‘I’m going to run a 47 for you,’ and I said ‘You’ve only run a 51, give me a break.’ But he has run like that and faster. His confidence helps him run faster.”
Step by step, meet by meet, and challenge by challenge, Payne’s evolvement into one of the nation’s 19 top 400-meter runners (as of the indoor season) has been a major story of the America East.
“Breaking the record twice in one meet [Armory Invitational], that just speaks to greatness of him,” Hart said. “He still has some time to go. He’s a tremendous athlete and I don’t even know how far he can go and I’m afraid to think of that.”
