St. Anthony's Payamps will finally get shot at Bowdoin Park course

Matthew Payamps wasn’t where he wanted to be Saturday afternoon – not by a long shot. The St. Anthony’s senior was all set to run the 5-kilometer course at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls at the state federation championships, but it was not to be. Thanks to Thursday’s snow storm, the state decided to cancel the meet- citing unsuitable course conditions.

“This was actually one of the meets that we were really excited for, so when we heard that it was canceled, we were extremely disappointed – not just me, but my teammates too,” Payamps said after a hard workout Saturday afternoon. “This was going to be (my teammates) last race and they’re now done for the season, so we were extremely disappointed when they called off the meet.”

But, Payamps will get another shot at Bowdoin’s difficult terrain, as he’s set to run in the New York race at the Nike Regional Qualifier on Saturday. If he finishes among the top-5 racers who are not also on the top two qualifying teams, Payamps will earn a bid to Nike Cross Nationals, scheduled for Dec. 1 at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

Payamps said that the cancellation of the federation championship was a big factor in his decision to run at the Nike qualifiers. He could have run at the Foot Locker national qualifier next week at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx – with a trip to Foot Locker Nationals San Diego on the line – but he wanted to run the Bowdoin course one more time.

Payamps said he struggled in the past at Bowdoin. He ran an 18:23.6 at the federation championship last year – a time he’s looking to shatter next week.  Once he gets past the difficult opening mile-and-a-half, Payamps feels pretty confident.

“You go out hard because the first 400 meters really narrows, but then you’re going up-hill until the mile-and-a-half mark,” Payamps said. “Once you get up there to the top of the big hill, it’s all downhill. But, just getting up there is difficult because you’re going up and up and up. In the past, I’ve had trouble getting to that point, but I know now that I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.”

But, Payamps is clearly running on a different level this season. He spent most of the fall as the top runner on Long Island, according to the tullyrunners.com speed ratings, and won both the CHSAA league and Intersectional championships within the last month.

“I’ve felt really great after those wins,” Payamps said. “Even during workouts, my legs and my breathing has been really good. I’m feeling really strong going into regionals.”

A run at this year’s federation championships would have allowed Payamps a chance to conquer Bowdoin before the national qualifier and ease any concerns he may have about running the course, but he isn’t looking back any longer.

“I can’t put my head too down, because none of the [other] guys are going to have a chance to run at feds, either,” Payamps said. “I just have to deal with it and just go out there next weekend. When I’m out there, it doesn’t matter. I just have to compete at that point.”