Track: Stumbaugh Named All-NWA Media Girls Runner of the Year

 STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Payton Stumbaugh of Springdale Har-Ber has been selected as the All-NWA Media Girls Runner of the Year.
STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Payton Stumbaugh of Springdale Har-Ber has been selected as the All-NWA Media Girls Runner of the Year.

Payton Stumbaugh could've eased up on the track and in her schoolwork after signing with Oklahoma in February.

But achievers rarely slow down and Stumbaugh is one of the highest achievers in the history of high school sports in Arkansas. She lives by the philosophy 'It's how you finish, not how you start' and that relates to the classroom, where she graduated from Springdale Har-Ber with a 3.8 grade point average.

Profile

Payton Stumbaugh

School: Springdale Har-Ber

Class: Senior

Height: 6-0

Notable: Won her second Heptathlon championship with a record 5,210 points. … Set overall mark in the 200 and meet record in the 100 hurdles at Meet of Champs. … Became first girl in Arkansas to run under 14 seconds at Class 7A state meet. … Two-time Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year for Arkansas. … Signed with Oklahoma in February.

"That's the quote I live by," Stumbaugh said. "I'm a goal-driven person. I wasn't going to be a typical senior that falls off at the end of the year."

Stumbaugh's drive to succeed is reflected in a long list of records and awards she's earned through the years. She punctuated her career with a runaway victory in the Arkansas High School Heptathlon at Cabot. She scored a record 5,210 points while winning her second Heptathlon title in three years.

Weeks before, Stumbaugh had set three 7A-West Conference records, two Class 7A records, two overall records, and two records in the Meet of Champions. For her achievements, Stumbaugh is the NWA Media Girls Runner of the Year.

"We haven't seen anybody like her," Har-Ber coach Brett Unger said. "It might take a while to realize how truly special she was for Har-Ber. She's been a joy to coach."

Stumbaugh was already one of the most decorated high school athletes before the start of her final outdoor season. She is a two-time winner of the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year for Arkansas and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Track Athlete of the Year for 2012.

"I think Payton is the most decorated athlete to come through Springdale, and arguably statewide," Unger said after Stumbaugh signed with Oklahoma earlier this year.

The Sooners offered Stumbaugh a scholarship before Arkansas, which showed only mild interest in her as a pole vaulter. She'll leave for Oklahoma in August, where she initially plans to major in Human Sciences and Anatomy.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I could do all the events and not just a couple," Stumbaugh said. "Oklahoma really wanted me and they were open about me doing the multis (events)."

Stumbaugh didn't let a light rain derailed her at the 57th Meet of Champs in Heber Springs, where she set an overall record in the 200-meter dash (24.49 seconds) and a meet record in the 100 hurdles (14.04). She set an overall record in the 100 hurdles (13.92) at the Class 7A state meet.

"I guess that's the record I'm most proud of," Stumbaugh said. "To become the first girl in Arkansas to run the 100 hurdles in under 14 is pretty awesome."

Even after all she's accomplished, Staumbaugh hasn't slowed down now that school is out. She still trains at least four times a week with her father, Lance Stumbaugh, who's guided her throughout her career.

"My dad, he built me into the athlete and person I am today," Stumbaugh said. "I wouldn't have done all these things without him."

Sports on 06/02/2014

Upcoming Events