One of Canada's best, Payten Smith had her sights set on wrestling in the Olympics before her career was cut short by a devastating injury.
Smith was as natural a wrestling talent as the elite Maple Ridge Secondary program has ever seen. Smith was inspired by her father, William Smith, who was also known as "The Hangman" and "Laser Jack Smith" in his professional wrestling days.
But the younger Smith went into the ring for her first tournament as a girl with only her singlet and determination. She was just a Grade 8, but she won her age group, the Grade 9–10 age group, and then the senior class as well. She surprised herself as she beat a lot of older, more experienced athletes, creating one of the greatest memories from a standout career.
She took silver at the provincial championships that year and again in Grade 9, and then reigned as the BC Champion in her heavyweight class for Grades 10, 11 and 12. The dominant Smith went whole seasons where nobody could score a point against her.
In her Grade 12 year, 2014, she won two gold medals at the national championships, in both freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. In freestyle—the wrestling style used in high schools and universities, she won all four of her matches by pin, without a point being scored against her. She had also won a freestyle national championship the year prior. Also in 2014 she was a Canada Summer Games gold medallist, and her accomplishments saw Sport BC name her the BC Female High School Athlete of the Year. "That was a pretty special moment," she said.
The next year at Simon Fraser University she was the BC Juvenile Female Wrestler of the Year, and in 2015 was a Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) bronze medalist, with All-American Status which she kept throughout her collegiate career. She also took silver at the Junior Pan American Games held in Cuba.
2016 saw Smith win WCWA silver, and at the Canada Cup seniors division she took second place. In 2017 she kept improving and got WCWA gold. But then Smith was hounded by a devastating injury that forced her out of the sport. She was thrown at the Commonwealth Games and landed on her head. "I couldn't move for a couple of minutes, and it was pretty scary," Payten said.
The resulting injury left her with instability in her neck, and there was a danger that a whiplash type injury could damage her spinal cord. She had to quit. "It was really cruddy, but it led me to shifting focus, and looking at other opportunities," said Smith. "I was pretty devastated. I remember calling my dad, crying."
When she encounters obstacles, Smith switches focus to what she can do, rather than what she can't.
Smith began volunteering, helping with youth wrestling. She also threw herself into her schooling, and volunteering at SFU's Centre for Forensic Research, where she came up with CSI Fridays to get kids interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
In 2023, she is working for the BC Wrestling Association as the office administrator. She is also finishing her master's degree in criminology.
Smith said she remembers seeing Hometown Heroes banners at Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, and at her elementary school. They include Hall of Fame baseball player Larry Walker, Boston Bruins great Cam Neely and race car driver Greg Moore. "I look at the names, and I'm honoured to be on that roster," said Smith.