Roschell Clayton’s journey from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to nationwide recognition in the USA is one among dedication, expertise, and stability between athletics and lecturers. Just lately, the standout excessive jumper was named one among two BIG EAST nominees for the 2025 NCAA Girl of the 12 months award. The honour acknowledges graduating student-athletes who excel not solely in sports activities but additionally in lecturers, management, and neighborhood service.
For Clayton, that is the second consecutive yr she has obtained the nomination, making her one of the vital celebrated student-athletes in Villanova College’s historical past.
Early Beginnings in Montego Bay, Jamaica
Clayton’s athletic story started at Montego Bay Excessive College, the place she competed in observe and area whereas additionally enjoying netball and basketball. Her expertise was evident from an early age, and he or she was named her college’s Athlete of the 12 months in 2018. Past sports activities, she excelled academically, incomes 9 CSEC distinctions and being energetic within the Performing Arts Membership.
Her basis in Jamaica laid the groundwork for each her athletic self-discipline and educational drive. It was at Montego Bay Excessive that she first started excelling within the excessive leap, finally incomes the chance to characterize Jamaica on the junior stage. She competed within the Jamaican Underneath-20 Championships in 2019 and positioned third on the JAAA CARIFTA Trials in 2020, exhibiting early indicators of the worldwide athlete she would later grow to be.
Achievements on the Worldwide Stage
At Villanova, Clayton rapidly developed into probably the greatest excessive jumpers in the USA. She grew to become a three-time NCAA All-American and broke college information each indoors (1.88 meters) and open air (1.87 meters). She was additionally the primary athlete in Villanova historical past to seize 4 consecutive BIG EAST titles within the excessive leap.
In 2024, Clayton tied for fifth place on the NCAA Out of doors Championships and sixth place on the NCAA Indoor Championships. That very same yr, she made historical past by successful the championship part of the ladies’s excessive leap on the Penn Relays, turning into the primary Villanova athlete within the jumps to realize the feat.
Her accomplishments carried her again residence in 2024, when she competed at Jamaica’s Olympic Trials. Ending third within the excessive leap, she proudly represented her nation on one of many largest levels of her profession.
Tutorial Excellence Past the Observe
Whereas excelling in athletics, Clayton maintained an equally spectacular educational observe file. She graduated early from Villanova in December 2023 with a level in Communication and instantly started her MBA research on the Villanova College of Enterprise.
Her constant educational achievements embody being named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll each semester, incomes a spot on the USTFCCCA All-Tutorial Workforce 5 years in a row, and recognition on the BIG EAST All-Tutorial Workforce all through her complete collegiate profession. In 2024, she obtained the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award for ladies’s out of doors observe and area and was honored because the PhillySIDA Tutorial All-Space Performer of the 12 months.
Service and Management within the Group
Clayton has additionally made a mark via neighborhood service, contributing to causes each within the U.S. and overseas. She has volunteered on the Particular Olympics, participated in Villanova’s Juneteenth Day of Service, and brought half in packages like Learn Throughout America at native elementary colleges. Her management prolonged to talking with college students at Radnor Center College and interesting in Villanova’s Holiday Adopt-A-Family program.
Her dedication to serving others provides depth to her nomination for NCAA Girl of the 12 months, exhibiting that her influence reaches past athletics and lecturers.
The NCAA Girl of the 12 months Program
Since 1991, the NCAA Girl of the 12 months award has celebrated feminine athletes who embody excellence throughout 4 areas: lecturers, athletics, management, and neighborhood service. Convention nominees like Clayton are thought of for the nationwide award, with the method narrowing from the High 30 honorees to 9 finalists earlier than a single winner is chosen. The 2025 NCAA Girl of the 12 months will probably be introduced on the NCAA Convention in January 2026.
Picture – Roschell Clayton/ Villanova
