Payne paces Eagles at state

Nicole Payne went to the coast with lofty goals.

The Oak Mountain High School senior didn’t just want to win her three individual events at the Class 7A state track and field meet, held May 2-4 in Gulf Shores. She wanted to break the record in all of them.

Two out of three isn’t too shabby. 

Payne won the girls 100, 200 and 400 meters, setting records in the latter two. She ran 23.74 seconds in the 200 and 53.55 in the 400, an event in which she already held the fastest mark. 

Her 400 time ranked fifth in the nation when it was clocked.  

“There were some goals that I wanted to hit, but I mean, you can’t do it all the time,” Payne said, reflecting on her remarkable meet. “I’m pretty happy with my performance.”

Payne only missed the 100 record by two one-hundredths of a second, running 11.75 in prelims. She helped the Oak Mountain girls place eighth in the team standings. 

Payne also contributed to the Eagles’ 4x400-meter relay that took second in 4:00.17. The quartet included Evie Bell, Emarie McNair and Halla Stallworth. 

The 4x400 was the final event of the three-day meet. After it concluded, Payne stood on the podium with her teammates and accepted her medal, then left immediately. She needed to get back to Birmingham to play in Oak Mountain’s state quarterfinal soccer game that evening. 

The daughter of a world-class track and field athlete and soccer player, Payne has juggled the two sports throughout her prep career. She’s done both at the highest level.

“It’s tough, but I have a lot of support behind me —my coaches, my parents, my teammates,” Payne said. “Day after day, they just keep me going.”

Payne will attend West Virginia University on a soccer scholarship next year and also will aim to run track. She leaves Oak Mountain as a 10-time individual state champion. 

“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime type athlete,” said coach Riley White. 

Trey Allen could merit that distinction as well. Another Oak Mountain senior, Allen won the boys high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 8 inches. He also won the state indoor competition in February. 

“I feel like I had a lot more in me,” he said. “I’m blessed though to win again, to win state.”

Allen tried three times to clear the bar at 6-10.25, which would have broken the existing meet record. But he lost his footing on each of his attempts and leaped into the bar. 

Allen’s victory in Gulf Shores capped an unforgettable senior year that saw him clear 7 feet, become an indoor national champion and sign a full scholarship to the University of Louisville. He also has been selected to represent the United States at an international meet in June. 

That’s quite an honor for someone who only started high jumping a little more than two years ago. 

“I never imagined that,” he said. “Just, it’s God. I’m just blessed.”

“When it came time, God gave me the power to do what I know I can,” Dimick said, “and I’m so thankful.”

Dimick began throwing as a freshman but made a big leap this year. He did not lose a discus competition all season and said he felt confident heading into the state meet, where he set a personal record. 

“I knew I had one in me,” Dimick said. “It took a little bit to bring it out.”

Dimick also placed second in the shot put with a heave of 55-5.5. Spain Park’s Matthew Gray won with a throw of 58-8. 

The Oak Mountain boys finished eighth at the meet, while Spain Park was 10th. The Jags received solid contributions from Josh Wallace, who took third in the javelin; Steven Pate, who took third in the discus; and Kameron McDaniel, who took fifth in the 100 dash. 

Spain Park also finished 10th in the girls team standings. Sydney Taylor was third in the 100 dash and fourth in the 200 dash; Mackenzie Culpepper was fifth in the 800 meters; and Kristen Hopkins was fifth in the javelin. 

Chelsea’s Teanna Cason took fourth in the 6A girls 3,200 meters and fifth in the 1,600 meters. 

In 5A, Jake Nunn led the Briarwood boys to a seventh-place finish. Nunn won the 400 meters and 800 meters in 49 seconds and 1:57.57, respectively. 

Nunn did not enter as the favorite in the 800 but ran a personal best to claim the victory. 

“I was feeling pretty good,” he said.