Laila Payne has become Carnegie Vanguard High School’s most decorated track athlete after a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles during the 2025 UIL 5A State Track & Field Championships.
“It’s honestly so surreal to see all the things that I’ve accomplished in these four years,” said Payne. “I just can’t help but feel so grateful for all the support that I’ve been able to get both as a student and as an athlete at Carnegie.”
Payne earned three UIL State medals during her four-year high school career. She captured her first medal as a sophomore, winning gold in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.96. The following year, she secured a silver medal in the same event after running 42.17. As a senior, Payne shifted her focus to the 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter and 200-meter sprints and chose not to compete in the 300-meter hurdles.
“We made the decision for Laila to run sprints her senior year to showcase some of her speed and versatility while allowing her to meet some of her personal goals,” said Carnegie track coach Kylaa Griffin.
Payne, who holds a 3.8 unweighted, 4.7 weighted GPA, will run next season at Princeton University while studying public and international affairs in the SPIA school. She desires to become a corporate lawyer one day.
“Going into college track, I’ll be mainly running the 400-hurdles, the 400-meters and the 200-meters, so I wanted to try running the short sprints one more time before I leave for college,” said Payne.
At the 2025 UIL 5A State Track & Field Championship, Payne ran 13.63 in the 100-meter hurdles and claimed the bronze medal, despite falling on the final hurdle—an incident that cost her just three-tenths of a second and a potential first-place finish.
The fall affected her leg mobility, resulting in a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.84 and a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.89.
“I had bruising on my knees which caused my knee to puff up and begin hurting in the 200-meters,” said Payne.
Payne’s three medals, along with her five school records, 100-meter hurdles (13.63), 300-meter hurdles (41.96), 100-meter dash (11.58), 200-meter (23.89) and 400-meter (55.65), are a testament to not only her athletic ability but also her dedication and time management.
“I was always told to be an accomplished athlete and student, especially with all the things that I love to do was going to be very challenging,” said Payne. “However, I had a great support system at Carnegie. I was in an environment that truly pushed me to become a better version of myself, set goals and change the way I saw the world. That was essential to my development both as a student, athlete and as a person.”
Carnegie is a public magnet school where all students are designated as gifted and talented, every course is taught at the honors level. The school is recognized for its rigorous academic program, requiring students to complete at least 10 AP courses before graduation.
Carnegie Vanguard students consistently outperform state and national averages on the SAT and ACT, reflecting the school’s strong academic standards. Nationally ranked at #31, Carnegie Vanguard is also ranked #5 among Texas high schools and holds the top spot in the Houston metro area.
Carnegie is known for its academics. It is not known for its sports.
“I can’t count to you how many 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM practices I had to do, or the multiple all-nighters I had to take to be able to balance my school and social life,” said Payne. “Attending a school where athletics aren’t the priority is difficult. There are no exceptions or breaks for student athletes.”
As a student athlete at a school strictly focused on academics, Payne had to make sacrifices.
“I sacrificed my weekends so I could train,” said Payne. “I sacrificed my sleeping schedule so I could turn in my school work on time. I sacrificed my social life to balance my school work and practice every evening, every day of the week. On top of that, I also had my other extracurricular activities I committed to; there was a lot of stress.”
Payne is a well-rounded student with leadership roles across various extracurricular activities beyond track. She serves as co-captain of the Carnegie dance team and president of the Black Student Union. She was the director of the Students for Refugees Club during her freshman and sophomore years and is also an active member of the French Honor Society, National Honor Society and Foster Care System Awareness Club.
Payne’s high school journey moved quickly, pushing her to master time management while still making time to enjoy the experience.
“I had to think back to doing the things that I truly enjoyed,” said Payne. “Managing time becomes less stressful when you’re having fun, so choosing things I enjoyed and were passionate about really helped me feel like all of the effort was for something that was of benefit to me. Often, my days would run from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM; however, because I truly enjoyed what I was doing, it didn’t feel like such a task for me.”
About Laila Payne:
Class: 2025
IG: @lailapayne_
Events: 100 & 300-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 200-meters and 400-meters
Height & weight: 5-feet-3, 115 pounds
Favorite artist: Adele
Status: Committed to Princeton University
Favorite subject: Government
Shout outs: My parents, my school track coaches and Coach Marlon
