Nicholls State University women’s track and field athlete Sakinah Abdul-Aziz set a new school record in the long jump at the McNeese State University invitational Saturday.

After jumping a distance of 19’1. 25’’, Abdul-Aziz surpassed the previous Colonel record of 18’ 9.25” on the modality. Abdul-Aziz also beat her personal and collegiate record by reaching that mark.
Abdul-Aziz also holds the school record in the indoor 60-meter with a time of 8.18 and 200-meter with a 27.04 time.

Abdul-Aziz is a 20-year-old from Baton Rouge. She is currently a sophomore majoring in psychology. Before transferring to Nicholls, she attended Southern Illinois University, where she was a redshirt freshman in track and field.
She was compelled to come to Nicholls by her friend and teammate Kyesha Thomas. Their friendship is beneficial to each other’s personal development, since both athletes have a very competitive spirit.

Before last weekend, Thomas held the previous Colonels’ record in the long jump, which she achieved at the Northwestern State Invitational on April of last year. According to Thomas, she is looking forward to beating Abdul-Aziz’s personal record and achieve a new school record.

Abdul-Aziz has set an ultimate personal goal for this season, to be able to jump 20’5’’. She said she is currently working towards that goal and she also wants to be able to make “at least the first round of the nationals.”
Her career in track and field started when she was 10 years old. According to Abdul-Aziz, her mother decided that she should be involved with sports after her father passed away. Her mother wanted her to be sociable and track and field was a sport she was familiar with.

During high school, Abdul-Aziz was member of the U.S. Express Track Club and a champion of both indoor and outdoor long jump for the McKinley High School Cougars in 2013.

“Sports is a really big part of who I am as a person, ” Abdul-Aziz said. “It makes it possible to landmark my progress and see how I am progressing. It also helps me to become a better person.”

According to the athlete, practicing a sport like track and field requires self-discipline and to do what is necessary to improve helps her to become a better person and to prepare herself to whenever she is out in the world.
Long jump is Abdul-Aziz’s favorite modality in track and field. She said that she feels empowered practicing her jumps.

“I am very passionate about long jump,” Abdul-Aziz said. “Just jumping and flying like that makes me feel powerful.”

Abdul-Aziz’s routine during the sports season is strict. According to her, it revolves around weight, practice, classes, homework and tournaments. Abdul-Aziz also has a part-time job. Among all those activities, she said she doesn’t have a lot of free time.

“Depending on how this season and next season goes and if I am progressing well enough, I may want to continue in track,” Abdul-Aziz said.

However, Abdul-Aziz has a back up plan. She wants to go to medical school after graduation, in hopes to open her own psychiatric firm in the future.