INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy senior diver Payton Staman earned a share of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award, presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete, based upon academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership. Staman, who shared the honor with Missouri S&T's DeShawn Jones, becomes just the second male student-athlete in school history to garner the prestigious honor.

Staman concluded his four years at UIndy this past March as one of the top divers in program history. The Roscoe, Ill., native racked up seven All-America First Team accolades, five GLVC event titles and two GLVC Diver of the Year nods. He was the national runner-up on the one-meter board in 2019, while also taking third place on the 3-meter that same year – both good for the highest-ever finish by a Greyhound in each respective event. He currently holds both the six- and 11-dive school records on the one-meter board.
 
The engineering major excelled in the classroom as well, compiling an impressive 3.92 cumulative GPA and a number of academic laurels. He earned a spot on the Dean's List all eight semesters, received the 2016-17 Howard D. Colman Scholar award; earned the Central Indiana Technology and Environmental Society (CITES) Scholarship and was named to the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.
 
He is eligible to garner his fourth straight CSCAA All-American Scholar award and Academic All-GLVC honor. He also nabbed the Richard G. Lugar Academic Recognition Award and will be up for the GLVC Council of Presidents' Academic Excellence Award later this year.
 
In addition to his athletic and academic endeavors, Staman served his community and campus in many different ways. He spent four years as a Grassroots Church Ministries volunteer, was a three-year Swimming Special Olympics coordinator, volunteered as an audio and visual technician at The Well Church for two years, and was the UIndy Swim & Dive Community Service Team Leader in 2018 and 2019. This year, he participated in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was a volunteer for and member of the Indianapolis Disc Golf Club.

Staman joins Scott Riggle (1998-99, tennis) as the only Greyhound males to receive the Paragon. Five Greyhound women have won the award since it was first handed out in 1990-91. UIndy's seven honorees is second only to USI's total of eight.