By Jim Hague
Talk about your creative and innovative young athletes. Chaheen Payne certainly fits the bill of those characteristics.
You see, Payne was first a football player at New Milford High School in Bergen County, but as a sophomore at New Milford, Payne became acclimated to the sport of track and field.
“When I was first introduced to track, I was just trying to understand the concept,” Payne said. “I had to learn that there was more to track then just running fast.”
In fact, Payne quickly became a jumper at New Milford, but really didn’t have a lot of schooling in the jumping events.
“I basically taught myself how to triple jump,” Payne said. “I had to learn to bring one leg and then the next. It wasn’t easy to learn.”
Payne also did the high jump and the long jump. Because of his athleticism, Payne also competed in some of the sprints and relays, but he found out soon that his forte was in jumping.
“I fell in love with the triple jump,” Payne said. “My bread and butter is the triple jump.”
In his first competitive meet, after teaching himself the steps and strides, Payne jumped 39 feet.
“The next meet was at Lyndhurst and this was a tough meet,” Payne said. “I jumped 41 (feet).”
The school record was 44 feet. In his next meet, Payne broke the school mark by jumping 45 feet, seven and ½ inches. It’s a record that still stands at New Milford.
“They put my spikes in the trophy case of the school,” Payne said. “They’re still there.”
Payne had to deal with some adversity along the way. As a junior at New Milford, Payne suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, an injury that required reconstructive surgery.
Payne rehabilitated the knee well enough to return to competitive track and field as a senior and did well enough to get spotted by the coaching staff at Montclair State University, a school that Payne always felt destined to attend.
“But things didn’t work out so well for me at Montclair,” Payne said. “I had to look elsewhere.”
Payne was good friends with Chelsea Washington, who joined the track and field coaching staff as a graduate assistant at Rutgers-Newark, where she competed and was a top scholar-athlete.
Chelsea helped to convince Payne to give Rutgers-Newark a try.
“I spoke with Coach (Juan) Edney and the first thing I asked him was, ‘How are you going to make me a better jumper?’” Payne said.
Edney liked Payne’s approach.
“He seemed very committed,” Edney said. “But when he first came to us (in January of 2018), he wasn’t in the best of shape. He wasn’t the prototypical jumper. He’s a little shorter than most jumpers, so he had to take longer strides. And because he taught himself to triple jump, he’s a little unconventional.”
But Edney saw a trait in Payne that he liked immediately.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Edney said. “He really gets into it. Sometimes, he gets too emotional and that messes him up a little. He wasn’t used to having a coach tell him what to do, so that was a little hard at first. But eventually, he woke up and said, ‘Coach, I’ll do whatever you need me to do.’”
So in the fall, Payne had to be just like every other member of the Scarlet Raiders’ track program. He had to run cross country.
“When he first came here, he said, ‘Coach, I don’t run. I just jump,’” Edney said. “I told him that we all run.”
So sure enough, Payne ran cross country. He wasn’t the best distance runner around, but he was at practices and competed like everyone else.
Payne was also introduced to new volunteer assistant coach Bruce Berry, a man with extensive experience in the high school and collegiate ranks. Berry served as an assistant coach at places like Clemson, Virginia Tech and the University of Akron and helped to develop the programs at Elizabeth and Newark Central High Schools into perennial New Jersey powers.
“We didn’t see eye-to-eye at first,” Payne said. “But then I just started listening to what he had to say. He’s the man. It’s really the first time I ever had a coach to help me with jumping. We’re doing great together. We have a great relationship. He’s a great coach.”
Payne also had a teammate in senior Hassan Haywood, who was literally his equal when it came to the triple jump. In fact, Payne and Haywood rank 1-2 in the Scarlet Raiders’ record book in the triple jump. Haywood’s best jump is 14.53 meters, which is eighth in the nation. Payne’s best is 14.55, which is tied for sixth nationwide among NCAA Division III schools.
The teammates were just recently honored as First Team (Haywood) and Second Team (Payne) All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and will both represent Rutgers-Newark at NCAA Division III Nationals next week.
“It’s great having a teammate like Hassan,” Payne said. “We help each other out. We’re able to correct things with each other. I’m excited to have a teammate like Hassan in the same event. Going 1-2 at the conference (NJAC) championships really meant a lot. It’s my last year and I’m trying to go out with a bang.”
Edney is pleased with the way Payne has fit in.
“He’s bought into it now,” Edney said. “He’s been a great addition to our program.”
Edney loves Payne’s personality.
“He’s an Internet sensation,” Edney said. “He’s a funny kid with all these skits and pranks he does on YouTube. He dresses up like an old woman. He’s just a funny guy.”
Sure enough, Payne has one video where he does a masterful impersonation of Michael Jackson, right down to the famed moon walk. He is also dressed as an elderly woman in a skirt and another as an old man with a beard. His work is hysterical.
Payne is majoring in public administration at R-N. He doesn’t know what he plans to do with his degree.
“I want to be an entrepreneur,” Payne said.
And perhaps an entertainer.
He’s fortunate enough to have the support of his parents, namely his father Cecil and mother Caroline.
“Dad is at every single track meet,” Payne said. “If the meet was on Mars, Dad would be there. Mom is always pushing me to be a better student. It helps having parents that care.”
So coming to Rutgers-Newark was a blessing for Payne.
“I think the stars are just aligned,” Payne said. “I’m just letting it all come. I’ve made so much progress.”
Edney believes that Payne has left his mark – obviously on the track and in the record books, but with his personality as well.
“I still think he can jump 50 feet. He still hasn’t tapped into what he can do.” added Edney.
Of course, there’s the outdoor season left for Payne to jump his way into other records and create some laughs as well along the way.
