CHAMPAIGN — A freshman stood above the rest as Thair Al-Saqri looked toward building his first Centennial girls’ soccer team roster three years ago. Al-Saqri had heard rumblings about this “tall freshman” with the initials P.K.
First from some of the players on the Chargers’ boys’ soccer team who had watched her showcase her skills on the field. Al-Saqri soon learned the name of the freshman earning such plaudits: Payton Kaiser. Kaiser had recently arrived from Florida before her freshman year of high school with her father Jay taking a job on Bret Bielema’s Illinois football coaching staff as the director of college personnel and the program’s NFL liaison.
The family had lived in Florida during much of Payton’s childhood prior to the move to east central Illinois, with her dad working for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins. The three years that have followed saw Payton Kaiser develop into the face of Centennial girls’ soccer as a midfielder with her junior season the culmination of that process, as Kaiser — The News-Gazette’s All-Area girls’ soccer Player of the Year for the 2024 season — finished with 13 goals and 10 assists for the Chargers. Centennial had a breakthrough season this spring, as well, posting a 12-9-1 record before losing 3-1 to Champaign Central in a Class 2A regional championship match.
“From day one, she never let up and was basically treating every practice like it was our last practice,” Al-Saqri said. “And whe.
