PHILADELPHIA—Senior high jumper Roschell Clayton (Montego Bay, Jamaica) was named the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Women's Track & Field Performer of the Year in an announcement made on Friday morning. The honor combines academic excellence with athletic accomplishments and is voted on by the media relations offices from more than two dozen colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. Clayton is one of 11 student-athletes who make up the PhillySIDA Women's Track & Field Academic All-Area Team.
 
This year's indoor and outdoor track & field seasons were record-breaking for Clayton, who set the absolute school record in the high jump at 1.88 meters indoors and broke the Villanova outdoor record with a mark of 1.87 meters at the NCAA Championships earlier this month. She earned first team All-America honors both indoors and outdoors in 2024 by finishing in the top eight of the high jump at the NCAA Championships. Clayton tied for sixth place indoors in Boston where she equaled her school record of 1.88 meters set earlier in the year, then moved up a spot to tie for a fifth place finish at the outdoor national meet.
 
With the 2023-24 collegiate seasons now in the books, Clayton holds eight of the top 12 marks in school history in the high jump. She has won the last three BIG EAST titles in her signature event, including sweeping the indoor and outdoor gold medals this year. The outdoor conference meet was hosted by the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium and Clayton tied the standing stadium record of 1.81 meters with her first place finish.
 
Clayton has excelled at an equally high level in her academic pursuits and was one of two student-athletes from the Villanova graduating Class of 2024 named the Senior Student-Athlete of the Year. She graduated a semester early in December as a Communication major and is currently enrolled in graduate school pursuing an MBA from the Villanova School of Business.
 
To date, Clayton has been a three-time member of both the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team and the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, with each of those honors still to be announced for the 2023-24 academic year. Clayton has earned Dean's List accolades seven times and has appeared on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll eight times for having a semester grade point average of 3.2 or higher. This is the second straight year that she has been named to the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Women's Track & Field Team.
 
Beginning with the 2005-06 academic year, the media relations directors at the colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area (PhillySIDA) have selected Academic All-Area Teams in 24 different sports during the academic year. A Performer of the Year is also voted on for each of the 24 sports and, at the end of the academic year, an overall male and female Performer of the Year is named. To be eligible for Academic All-Area status, a student-athlete must be a significant contributor to their team and have a minimum grade point average of 3.3 or higher.
 
This is the 19^th year of the Academic All-Area program and the Villanova women's track & field program has earned 28 selections to the Academic All-Area Team over the years. Clayton is the Wildcats fifth Performer of the Year in women's track & field and the first since Siofra Cleirigh Buttner in 2017-18.