On a Saturday night this past April at West Point’s Eisenhower Hall, the slender frame of Stony Brook’s own Thomas Payne ’08 loomed large in the world of collegiate boxing.

While Payne’s Naval Academy dropped the team title, he won the individual NCBA Championship in the 119-pound division by defeating Army’s Andrew Manglicmot.

Payne was a former member of Stony Brook’s cross country and tennis teams, but wrestling was his primary sport. During the 28th installment of the annual Brohard Tournament, Thomas engineered a 4-0 record, including one pin that required a mere 19 seconds. In 2008 he received the Thomas W. Brohard, Jr. ’25 Wrestling Award at Class Night. Endowed by John Cather and Thomas Brohard ’65, it is a scholarship meant to offset the college expenses of a wrestler.