In January, Schaaffe ran 1:30.99 to win at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational at the University of Iowa. The time was a top-six all-time performance for UM.
She declared then that she was targeting a time below 1:30 at the Big 10 championships but not even she could have predicted how far below she would have gone.
After posting a time of 1:30.05 in the preliminaries on Thursday, the second-fastest time of the round behind the 1:29.21 set by her teammate Val Larson, Schaaffe floored it in the finals on Saturday to win in 1:27.96.
“I was amazed that I went in with the second-fastest time from the prelims and have pulled off such a big personal best, which makes me fourth in my school history,” she told Sportsmax.TV.
“I had no idea I would ever run that fast. I was looking at a 1:28-low but my coach back home predicted that I was going to run that time so he was not surprised, I guess.”
Larson finished second in 1:28.67 with Claire Pitcher of Iowa in 1:29.96.
She would team up with Jayla Campbell, Janielle Josephs and Larson to win the 4x400m relay in 3:35.51. Iowa copped silver in 3:37.92 while Purdue was third in 3:39.51.
Schaaffe ran the anchor in 52.5, her fastest ever relay split.
“It was great. I didn’t even know that I ran that fast because it was like an hour after the 600,” she said.
At the NCAA National Championships, Schaaffe will only run the 4x400 relay and is looking forward to an event switch when she goes outdoors later this year.
“I have always been interested in the 400m hurdles because that is one of my events, too, but I would take on the 400m any day,” she said. “But I’m thinking the 400mh outdoors that is what I really want to do.”
Earlier, Rikkoi Brathwaite of the British Virgin Islands won the 60m dash in 6.55. Waseem Williams of Purdue was second in 6.66, the same time as his teammate Marcellus Moore.
At the meet held at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Illinois, the Jamaican freshman won the 400m hurdles on Friday in 58.63 over Illinois freshman Franklin Jessica who clocked 58.99. Her Minnesota teammate Val Larson was third in 59.17. Her winning time was the fastest time in the conference so far this season.
Then on Saturday, Schaaffee anchored a team of Jayla Campbell, Janielle Josephs and Larson, to victory in the 4x400m relay in a conference-leading 3:38.40.
Illinois ran 3:42.01 for second place while a second team from Minnesota was third in 3:52.10.
The 2019 ISSA Boys and Girls Championships 800m bronze medalist was delighted with her weekend’s work but said there was still room for improvement, especially in the one-lap hurdles event.
“I am feeling pleased about my time and the performance,” she said. “I just need to work on my technique some more which would give me a faster time going into the championship.
“I have been working on my start, as in getting to the first hurdle in a faster spilt. My coach catches a spilt to each hurdle; my progression with that has been fluctuating. I get better then I go back to what I was doing another day. But I am just working on being consistent.”
Meanwhile, she was quite pleased with her leg of the mile relay, saying: "It felt good. I just want to get down to a faster split so we run a faster time."
Schaaffe, 20, a graduate of St Mary’s High School in Jamaica, is coming off a three-gold medal performance on the NCAA Indoor circuit that already has her in the university’s record books.
Last Friday at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational at the University of Iowa, she won the 600m in 1:30.99, a top-six all-time performance for UM. Then, on Saturday, she clocked 55.53 to win the 400m. She was also a member of her school’s mile relay team that also won gold at the meet in 3:40.93.
Her wins helped UM women win the team title with 129.5 points ahead of Nebraska’s 91.
With those medals in the bag, she is now aiming for something greater at the Big 10 championships coming up on February 25.
“I want to run sub 1:30 by the Big Ten Championship,” she told Sportsmax.TV earlier this week, “I aimed at it in my race last Friday but I’ll definitely be working towards it.”
The Kinesiology major believes breaking 1:30 is on the cards because of the speed at which she has been adjusting to running indoors and to living in Minnesota.
“Yes, it was challenging at first but as time progresses and I am constantly doing it I realize that I have adjusted so much better,” she said.
“My coach always compliments me on adjusting to the weather and my transition into their program so I think I am doing well in that aspect.”
In 2019, Schaaffe was third at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships in Jamaica, in a personal best 2:08.83 behind standouts Charokee Young of Hydel High and Petersfield’s Shaquena Foote.
