House of Payne

By Patrick Bohn, March 31, 2025

Kailee Payne ’25 reflects on her record-setting diving career and the journey that brought her home to Ithaca College.

Despite only diving at Ithaca for two years, Payne ends her college career as the most decorated diver in school history. (Photo by Allison Usavage '11)

Kailee Payne ’25 takes a deep breath, moves forward on the one-meter board, then takes a small leap, twisting and turning in the air before splashing into the water at Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium inside Ithaca College’s Athletics and Events Center.

Emerging from the water, she turns to the photographer standing a few feet away and says, almost apologetically, “I can do that one again if you want.”

To the untrained eye, Payne’s first dive looked fantastic, but as she climbs back onto the board, Chris Griffin, Ithaca College’s diving coach, leans towards the photographer—Allison Usavage ’11, IC’s Senior Director of Design & Multimedia—and says with a smile, “Yeah, she wasn’t happy with that one.”

Griffin shouts out a piece of advice, and Payne takes a breath and prepares to dive again.

If you’re wondering what separates a four-time national champion from the rest of the competition, it’s this standard of excellence that won’t be compromised, not even for a photoshoot.

“Kailee and I will both tell you that we have a bit of a perfectionist streak in us,” Griffin says.

Payne is taking these dives just a few days after the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, where she made history. Winning dual titles on the one- and three-meter boards for the second year in a row, Payne tied the Ithaca College record with four career national championships. What’s more, in the preliminary round of the three-meter competition, she shattered the all-time Division III mark with a score of 530.95 points.

This year’s three-meter championship represented the final competition of her collegiate career, and by virtue of her record-setting performance in the prelims, Payne had the luxury of diving last.

“I knew that if I wanted to find my ‘home,’ I needed to come to IC.”

Kailee Payne '25

The benefit to that placement meant that heading into the last of her 11 dives—this one an inward two-and-a-half tuck—she knew exactly what she needed to do to win. The biggest challenge, ironically, wasn’t physical, but mental.

The same dive that would cement Payne’s legacy as one of Ithaca’s most dominant student-athletes of all time was one that, in the beginning of the season, she struggled to even attempt.

Payne has thrived—as an athlete and a whole person—under the coaching of Mike Blakely-Armitage, head coach of the swimming and diving program (right) and diving coach Chris Griffin. (Photo by Allison Usavage)

I knew all the movements I needed to do to execute the dive,” Payne said. “But I was battling intrusive thoughts: ‘What if I slipped off the board? What if my head hit the board?’ I basically had to start from scratch and practice every part of the dive.”

That mental journey she undertook for her title-clinching dive mirrors the challenges she’s overcome during her collegiate career.

A standout athlete at Ithaca High School, Payne received several Division I scholarship offers, eventually settling on Marshall University. Though her first season was successful—she was named the Conference USA Freshman Diver of the Year—under the surface, things weren’t as calm.

“I didn’t know what I didn’t know about Division I, and I think in general, high school athletes are naturally drawn to the allure of competing at that level,” she said. “Because we think that bigger is better. But D1 can have so much more pressure, because it’s so performance focused. You sometimes feel like you get treated like you’re just an athlete, and not a whole person.

“I felt like transferring was the right decision, so I started to look around at my options,” Payne continued. “When I was younger, I’d taken part in diving clinics at IC and worked with Chris and [former IC national champion] Nickie Griesemer [’18]. I loved the facility and was familiar with the coaching style.”

So naturally, when Griffin answered Payne’s call and heard she had an interest in transferring to Ithaca, he wasted no time getting a locker ready, right? Not quite.

“Because I’d worked with Kailee starting in 9th grade, it was exciting to see her go to Division I,” he said. “But it was just as heartbreaking to see her not flourish. So, I wanted to make sure she came to Ithaca because it was the right fit—I didn’t merely want to sway her because of our existing relationship.

“Ithaca College is an elite place. We are a great school, and we have a fantastic swimming and diving program. I think sometimes we need to get out of our own way, highlight what we’re great at, and let the athlete realize we’re the best place for them."

Chris Griffin, Ithaca College Diving Coach

“I call it ‘anti-recruiting’, because I don’t want to paint a false, rosy picture,” he continued. “Ithaca College is an elite place. We are a great school, and we have a fantastic swimming and diving program. I think sometimes we need to get out of our own way, highlight what we’re great at, and let the athlete realize we’re the best place for them.”

Griffin’s no-pressure style was a relief for Payne.

“There’s so much advertising for Division I programs, and sometimes what you get shown doesn’t feel real,” she said. “But the more freedom I had to really look at Ithaca, I saw that authenticity and realized that’s what I wanted. I knew that if I wanted to find my ‘home,’ I needed to come to IC.”

Since transferring to IC from Marshall University, Payne has re-written both the Ithaca College and Division III record books. (Photo by Allison Usavage '11)

Although she knew the move from Huntington, West Virginia, to South Hill was the right one, there were still hurdles to overcome once she stepped back into the natatorium where she’d competed at the New York State championships while in high school.

Griffin’s coaching style is rooted in the belief that every diver responds to something different, and his more relaxed approach was just what Payne needed to hear.

“Last year, honestly, my goal was just to get her to fall in love with the sport again,” Griffin said. “I told her ‘Hey, you’re a performer. Go out there, enjoy it, and put on a show.’”

“I realized that any single dive that goes right or wrong doesn’t define you,” she said. “People are going to respect the work you put in no matter what.”

Payne put in the work, and turned in a standout 2023-24 season, winning both the one- and three-meter national titles. Her one-meter performance was so dominant—her score of 515.15 was less than a point from the D3 record—that as she went into her final dive with the other competitors already finished, she’d already secured the win.

After a performance like that, expectations for Payne’s senior year were sky high.

“Everyone knew how good she was, so we had to fight the demons of expectations,” Griffin said. “I just reminded her: ‘You’re in the right place, and you earned those titles.’”

“The challenge for me this year was not to put too much pressure on myself,” Payne added. “But it was tough at times. I wanted another national championship, and I had to keep telling myself that if I didn’t get it, it wouldn’t define me.”

Her senior year was as impressive as the one before it, with Payne excelling throughout the regular season and earning Diver of the Meet honors at the Liberty League Championships. At the national championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, she took home the one-meter title on the second day of competition and started out strong on the three-meter—eventually leaving nothing in the way of a fourth championship but that inward two-and-a-half tuck.

“Going up [for my final dive], the biggest sign that I was at the right place was that I was fully confident that I could do what I was capable of.”

Kailee Payne '25

“The last thing I said to her before she got on the board was ‘Go be you one last time,’” Griffin said.

As she got ready to close out her career, Payne realized she had truly come full circle and found her home at IC.

“Going up there, the biggest sign that I was at the right place was that I was fully confident that I could do what I was capable of,” she said.

That confidence didn’t leave her as she twisted in midair.

Payne was named Diver of the Meet at the 2025 Liberty League Championships.

(Photo courtesy of IC athletic communications)

“Each dive has its own unique parts, and when you know what they’re supposed to be, there’s lots of moments where you know you hit a certain movement just right,” Payne said. “I could tell that I was hitting mine right on that time.”

After splashing down she came to the surface, knowing before she even looked at the scoreboard that she’d executed the dive well enough to earn her fourth national championship—something she admitted she never envisioned.

“I wasn’t thinking about national championships when I came to IC,” she said. “I wanted to enjoy being here, because it was a rough journey at times. And that’s why it was so great having a coach like Chris who truly cared about me as a whole person. It honestly felt like his recognition of that was make-or-break for me as an athlete.”

Kailee Payne the athlete first stepped onto a diving board when she was 12 years old. Now, a decade later, she’s ended her career as the most accomplished diver in Ithaca College history—her name covers the record board hanging on the wall of the natatorium—and Kailee Payne the person is getting ready for the next phase in her life.

“I love the humanities-based approach that my courses take. What I learn about in the classroom, I apply when I’m outdoors. I’ll be walking along a trail or in the Natural Lands and I’ll see a tree and start thinking about the history of the region and how that contributes to everything I’m seeing.”

Kailee Payne '25

Payne is set to graduate from Ithaca this spring with an environmental science degree, and she has a strong appreciation for the academic environment IC fosters.

“I love the humanities-based approach that my courses take,” she said. “What I learn about in the classroom, I apply when I’m outdoors. I’ll be walking along a trail or in the Natural Lands and I’ll see a tree and start thinking about the history of the region and how that contributes to everything I’m seeing.”

Payne applied to graduate school at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and hopes to become a park ranger one day.

“The environment and nature have always appealed to me,” she said. “Growing up, I loved to get my hands dirty and play with bugs, so this academic path has been great.”

Back at the natatorium photoshoot, there’s no dirt or bugs to be found as Payne emerges from the water one last time, with a smile on her face. She looks at Griffin, who nods at Usavage and says:

“That one was better.”

Make a Splash at IC

Are you a high school student athlete looking to compete at the next level? Explore Ithaca College Athletics here, and be sure to click under the "Recruiting" tab for information about coaches, facilities, and more.
It's never too late to start your Ithaca College journey! Learn more about transferring to IC like Kailee Payne.
IC's robust academic programs and its location in the heart of the Finger Lakes make environmental science, housed in the School of Humanities and Sciences, a unique, hands-on degree. Don't forget to check out the college's Natural Lands.