Ithaca’s Payne named All-American

Ithaca High School alum Kailee Payne is already in West Virginia ready to begin her collegiate diving career at Division I Marshall University, but she recently received one last accolade from her high school athletic days. At the beginning of August, Payne was named an All-American after setting the Section IV all-time diving record during her senior year at HIS.

Swimmers can earn All-American status by achieving certain timing benchmarks during the season. Divers, however, have to submit a video of their performance to be recognized. Payne committed to doing so late in the season.

“I didn’t really have the intention of doing it this year until my coach kind of pushed me into it in a good way,” Payne said. “My parents and I decided that for one of our invites, and for sectionals, we decided to film everything and submit it so we could possibly win All-American. I was really happy with my performances. I’m glad we submitted it because, obviously, it was a good outcome.”

Since diving was the last sport to have its recipients announced, there was a lengthy waiting period in which Payne’s mother was checking for All-American postings every day. During that time, Payne was hoping for the best.

“I figured I did stand a chance,” she said. “I know where I stand among athletes right now, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. Based on where I’m ranked in New York state, I knew I stood a chance of being selected.”

All-American status is one final feather in Payne’s cap before moving on to Marshall. It’s especially meaningful following a difficult senior year that was impacted by COVID-19.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Payne said. “This summer has been a really good pick-me-up for me. I’m feeling happy with where I’m at. I progressed in really good ways. I’m so excited to be diving full time coming up. I’m excited to work with a new coach and a new team. I’m feeling pretty good about myself.”

Payne specified how exactly she has advanced her skill set during the summer to get her personal trajectory back to where she wants it to be.

“[I’ve done] lots of new dives,” she said. “I’ve been on a plateau for a while with COVID hitting. I hadn’t been able to progress as far as I’d like to. So, now that I had access to Ithaca College again, I’ve been able to practice a lot of 3-meter and get a lot of new dives off. It’s been a really exciting time. I’ve been going to the gym a lot more, and it feels great to really push myself in ways that I wasn’t able to due to COVID.”

Now that Payne has been able to consistently practice, she’s been challenging herself with new techniques. One of those is the back two and a half tuck, in which the diver completes two and a half backflips in a cannonball-like position off a 3-meter board.

“This is one of those dives where it shows that you’re moving on to the next level,” Payne said. “This is a dive that proves that I’m becoming a college diver. So, that’s my big determination to get this dive because I want to move up to the next level.”

The Olympics wrapped up at the beginning of the month, and given that her passion is featured at the Games, Payne had a close eye on the diving competitions. She viewed the Olympics as a learning opportunity to help better her skill set.

“A big thing I do is I compare myself a lot,” Payne said. “I compare my approach to an Olympic diver’s approaches. I see what’s their high versus mine. What kind of small skills are they using? Are they placing their toes in a certain spot? What position are their arms in? All these little things definitely add up and help me to better myself as an athlete. I really enjoy comparing myself in a good way to these higher-end athletes to see what I can still work on to get to the level I want to be at.”

Payne is just about two months away from her first collegiate meet and is currently on campus working with Marshall diving coach Megan Siford. She’s a long way from home but is ready to get the ball rolling.

“I’m really excited for this new change in my life to learn this new sort of independence,” Payne said. “I’ll be able to focus on academic areas I’m interested in. I’ll be able to really start figuring out what the next step of my life is. It’s a huge change, but I’m really ready for it and I’m very excited for it.”

Payne leaves a legacy behind as the best diver in Ithaca High School history and arguably the best diver in Section IV history. All-American status is a fitting finishing touch on her days with the Little Red.