Qiona Payton '14 Recruiting Profile

Hi everyone,

My name is Qiona Payton from College Station, Texas and I am a sprinter/hurdler on my high school team at A&M Consolidated High School and I consider myself to be competitive, self-confident, and compassionate about track and field. Now I'll tell you a little bit more about myself. During track season my freshman year of high school, I decided to try to put more effort into the hurdles and see where I would go from there. When the district meet came that year, I was a shoo-in for placing 1st in both prelims and finals. Right before the race for finals, I stared down at all of the hurdles and suddenly became extremely terrified. When the race was over I felt so much pain from doing so bad that tears started rolling down my face. That was the moment I realized that this was my calling, and that I would never have that feeling again. That is why I am so determined to put in the hard work that I need to be the best hurdler that I can possibly be and that is what I have been doing for the past two years that I've been hurdling. I've been bruised so many times and have lost a few of my races, but I'm not going to let that stop me from achieving my dreams. I will continue to put in countless hours of practice, because I know that with the heart that I have grown for track and field, and the success that I have achieved, it will make it so much better to remember when I look back at all of the things I accomplished. I will know that I tried my hardest to achieve success like Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper, Sally Pearson, and Brianna Rollins. I want to prove to myself that if I ever achieve that kind of success, I put 100% of my energy into it. I know I am nowhere near my full potential after only two years of really hurdling, and I just need someone who will take me in and help me to find what I can really do.