Miami Northwestern senior Taranique Alexander has spoken: California State University-Northridge will be the place where she takes her athletic talents!

The MNW speedster and jumper took to Twitter last week to add an official touch to things, and for good reason. Taranique said that growing up as a child, she had no goals in life, and never aspired to reach the heights that she has. Signing her National Letter of Intent was something that was hard to believe because it was a dream that is now a reality.

“All I knew was the ‘hood,’” she said. “I never knew there were great experiences such as this one. It’s unbelievable.”

Taranique has risen up out of her circumstances and has the proof, too. A state champion in the triple jump (40’ 1.25) and runner-up in the long jump (19’ 9.25), Taranique has come a long way and has jumped her way into being one of the top-ranked jumpers in the state. However, that’s not all she’s known for. Give her a baton and she’ll help get it around the track and bring it home. Taranique is also a state champion for her efforts on her team’s 4x100 relay, in which the Lady Bulls captured the 3A state title in 46.37. She also boasts a personal-best of 24.44 in the 200-meters.

Talk about range.

When asked why she chose her CSUN, she said that she had a change of heart. She said that when one of the coaches came and spoke with her and her teammate, she had an instant feeling that CSUN was where she needed to go.

“That school has all the resources I need to excel as a student but also as an athlete,” she said.

She adds that it was a tough decision, as she was also looking at Nebraska and USC, among other schools.

Looking forward, goals for the 2017 outdoor season include having a new personal-best each meet of the season, being more aggressive in practice, and to break meet records at the meets she attends.

When you play a sport, you tend to learn something about yourself along the way. Taranique said that she’s learned to never underestimate herself and her abilities, and to always believe in God and herself.

“I also learned to take advantage of the opportunities that I was given,” she said. “To take advantage of the talent that God has given me.”