Jefferson’s Blue is going purple

CEDAR RAPIDS - Jasmine Blue sees a lot of similarities between her current track coach and her future track coaches.

'They remind me a lot of Coach (Bill) Calloway,” Blue said Thursday in discussing her decision to orally commit to the University of Northern Iowa. 'I felt a real connection with them.”

A senior sprinter at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Blue divulged her decision Thursday morning on Twitter. She picked UNI over Illinois State, Western Illinois and South Dakota State, among others.

'At first, I thought (the recruiting process) was going to be so fun,” Blue said. 'Then it kind of started to drag and it became pretty stressful.

'Nothing felt quite right until I talked more with UNI. They wanted to know about me as a person.”

Blue has been a cornerstone of the Jefferson sprinting corps since her arrival as a freshman. Last spring, the J-Hawks won state titles in the 400- and 800-meter relays and were second in the sprint medley relay.

Jefferson owns the all-time Iowa best in the 800 relay (1:39.24, set at the 2015 state meet) and shares the Iowa record in the 400 relay (47.55, at the 2015 Drake Relays).

Blue intends to major in sports marketing and management at UNI.

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