National champion runner also to earn two degrees

Makayla Paige began running at age 8 and started picking up rocks even earlier than that.

She brought both interests to Carolina, where she became a national champion, four-time All-American and earned a geological sciences degree.

Now a graduate student, Paige has a few more months to run in a Tar Heel singlet while also chasing down her second degree, a Master of Applied Professional Studies.

Paige believes Chapel Hill was the perfect place to develop as a runner and student.

“UNC’s been a really amazing university to support both academics and athletics,” she said.

Overcoming stumbles

When she came to Carolina in 2021, she knew she could achieve great things if she worked hard.

“I went about every single day just believing that I could,” said Paige, whose specialty is the 800-meter.

In addition to adjusting to the demands of collegiate running, she had to overcome an injury as a sophomore that sidelined her during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

But by her 2025 indoor campaign, everything clicked. Paige felt she was running at her best going into her first appearance in the NCAA indoor championships, held in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

She jumped out to an early lead and never trailed, despite getting clipped from behind about 28 seconds into the race. Paige stumbled but stayed on her feet, keeping her composure and running to the title in 2:00:39.

When she thinks back to the triumph, the support of her teammates stands out just as much as the actual race.

“When you get on the line, it can feel so lonely. But I looked over and saw a whole group of Carolina Blue, and I just knew I wasn’t doing it by myself,” said Paige, who also finished second in the 800 at the 2025 outdoor national championships.

The same day Paige won her title, fellow Tar Heel Ethan Strand ’25 captured the men’s 3,000 national championship.

Paige and Strand were named the 2025 ACC Indoor Track Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

“It was even more exciting to do that with Ethan Strand because he’s one of my closest friends,” Paige said. “We lived together at that point, and it was just fun to see everything play out.”

Paige said the support of her teammates stands out the most from her national championship. (Carolina Athletics)

Combining her passions

Paige came to Carolina interested in a pharmacy career. But after an introductory geology course, she took more classes in the discipline and grew to love the topics covered and the people she met.

“I met so many amazing people and amazing professors,” Paige said. “I did my undergrad research with Dr. Laura Moore, and it was a lot of fun.”

Paige, who plans to run professionally, is now studying sustainability in sports with her MAPS degree, which allows students to customize their focus for their career goals. She’s taking several public health courses and has even seen examples of sustainable practices in real life.

Because Paige has a name, image and likeness deal with shoe and sportswear company On, she toured the company’s Swiss headquarters last summer.

“I met with their sustainability team, and they were talking about how they’re changing products to be more environmentally friendly,” Paige said. “And I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do!’”

For now, the veteran leader of the Tar Heel runners is eyeing more accolades with the outdoor season in full swing — and embracing opportunities to lend wisdom to younger teammates.

“I’ve been grateful for those leadership opportunities because I think that has helped me grow individually,” Paige said. “I think that’ll be helpful after college, and I hope I’ve been able to help the women on the team even just a little bit.”