Broken Arrow junior Payton Wells brings a calm focus and a gritty edge to the circle for the Tigers’ varsity slow-pitchsoftball team.
Wells, a pitcher, said the toughest part of her position has nothing to do with nerves or pressure. It is the elements. “The most difficult thing about my position is throwing against the wind,” she said. Even so, she has learned to compete through any conditions, leaning on a mentality shaped by years in athletics. “Athletics has taught me grit that I will use later in life,” Wells said.
That toughness traces back to home. She points to her dad as the person she looks up to most. “My dad inspires me because of his strong work ethic and determination,” Wells said. She tries to mirror that approach in everything she does, whether it is in the classroom or on the field. Math is her favorite subject, and she still remembers her freshman English teacher, Mrs. Davis, as her all-time favorite.
At the plate, Wells keeps her plan simple and repeatable. “My process at the plate is to focus on hitting line drives up the middle,” she said. Between innings and games, she enjoys the lighter side of the sport and the personalities that fill Broken Arrow’s dugout. She calls teammate Addily Evans the most vocal Tiger and labels Kenya Harp as the funniest.
The energy of the group is what makes the long days worth it. “The thing I love most about my teammates on Broken Arrow is how energetic they are,” Wells said. She especially appreciates the grinders like Kalyn Penny, who, in Wells’ words, “has the dirtiest uniform after every game.”
Off the field, Wells likes to stay active by playing pickleball in her free time. Whether she is hustling out a ground ball or battling the wind in the circle, she tries to live by one of her favorite unwritten rules of softball: always hustle, no matter the score.
