Raising The Bar
Charity Griffith with her NCAA trophy. Photo courtesy of Brendan Maloney
Ball State Track and Field’s Charity Griffith Takes Courageous Leap to a National Title
A loud roar could be heard in Austin, Texas, and across the state of Indiana at approximately 10:30 p.m. on June 10. In the waning moments of the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ball State University’s Charity Griffith, ’23, leaped over the bar set at 1.85 meters and secured a national championship in the high jump event.
But she wasn’t done just yet.
Following her usual pre-jump routine of visualization and pointing to the sky, Ms. Griffith took her standard 10-step approach and went even higher, clearing 1.93 meters to set a new program record—one that she already held. It was quite an impressive feat, considering her highest jump in high school was 1.67 meters—nearly a foot shorter on the conversion scale.
“I was very hyped and excited that I could clear that height, and to win that national championship,” Ms. Griffith said. “I’ve always said that I wanted to win an NCAA championship. So to actually put it into reality was almost like a disbelief.”
For Ms. Griffith, it was her third top-five NCAA finish in the previous 12 months. She finished fifth at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships and fifth again in the Indoor Championships.
A historic night got even better as Ball State teammate Jenelle Rogers wrapped up a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon later that evening and secured First Team All-American honors with 6,018 points—also a school record.
It was the first time in school history that Ball State produced multiple outdoor All-Americans in the same season, and the first time two Cardinals earned top-10 finishes in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“I told Jenelle before the year started that we were both going to nationals,” Ms. Griffith said. “I was very happy and excited to see her compete, and grow more confidence to match her abilities. The mindset is so powerful, and it all came together with her performance.”
For Ms. Griffith, she’ll shift her focus to international competition as she aims to qualify for the World Athletics Championships and, ultimately, a chance to compete for her country at the 2024 Olympics. The bar has been set.
