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Payne-Fully Obvious...

Tuesday, 11 November 2014 00:10

Minnesota Multisport Awards - Just as it was obvious to the Selectors that Heather Lendway would win the Performance of the Year award, it was similarly so for Matt Payne. It was "Payne-Fully" obvious that he would win the men's POY.

Matt held serve at every distance except IM this year. But then, he has yet to do an IM. His 1:55 CR at Buffalo was the fastest Olympic effort by a Minnesota amateur this season. (FYI, Ryan Bailey popped a 1:54:57 at Life Time - Oceanside, which was contested well after the MMA winners were determined and will, for award purposes, apply to his 2015 resume.) Payne's nominated 4:02 at Liberty trumped every other 70.3 effort by amateurs from our state. His amateur wins at Oakdale and Du Nationals were the best run-bike-run performances, and his sprint efforts at Lake Waconia and Sprint Nationals were unrivaled by his Minnesota peers.

Which of his nominated performances--CR at Liberty or win at Best of the US--was the studliest, then? ...

Best of the US. Why? Because he beat a national-class field, most notably outracing Michigan's Daniel Stubleski, the guy who was named US Athlete of the Year in 2013, and is in the running for that award again this year (1st amateur at Kona, three sub-4-hour 70.3s, 7th overall at Nationals et al).