AUSTIN — Charity Griffith Of Ball State set a new personal best in the women’s high jump to upset defending champion Lamar Distin of Texas A&M to claim her first title at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Griffith got over 1.93m/6-4 to better her previous best clearance by an inch and a quarter. The junior denied Distin a repeat championship and a two-year sweep of the indoor and outdoor NCAA high jump titles.
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IT’S OVER. SHE’S DONE IT. MEET YOUR 2023@NCAATrackField HIGH JUMP CHAMPION!@CharitySueGrif1 #ChirpChirp x #WeFly pic.twitter.com/4TowZewoXp
— BallStateTrack&XC (@BallStateTFXC) June 11, 2023
Distin, a senior from Jamaica, led Griffith by virtue of a first-bar clearance at 1.87m/6-1.5, a height Griffith needed two attempts to get over. But Griffith secured her championship at the next bar, clearing 1.90m/6-2.75 on her second try while Distin was unable to clear in her three chances.
Elena Kulichenko of Georgia, who finished third at 1.87m/6-1.5, missed her first two attempts at 1.90m/6-2.75 before strategically passing to the next height, but had a failed clearance in her final remaining jump.