Charlie Ford didn’t believe what his Newport Central Catholic teachers told him as a freshman in 2022.
He thought being told to cherish high school relationships and memories was merely something everybody said.
Ford is now a senior and one of Northern Kentucky’s speediest sprinters. He’s 3-1 in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and won the Class A state 55-meter dash March 5 in Louisville.
And he discovered his teachers were right.
“If I’m being honest, I didn’t believe them because it’s four years, you know, little me freshman, thinking everybody says that,” Ford said. “But you know, if you really think about it, it does go by that fast.”
Third-year NewCath coach Kelsey Etherton remembers the first time she heard about Ford.
“I used to teach at (NewCath),” Etherton said. “I got to watch him compete with football as a freshman and obviously he was super talented, and then I was super-excited when I found out that he was joining the track team. So he came out with his freshman year for track and he’s been very successful every year since.”
Calling Ford very successful is a considerable understatement.
Starting with the state indoor meet March 5 in Louisville. He won the Class A 55-meter dash March 5 in Louisville with a personal-record time of 6.57 seconds and took second in the long jump (20 feet, 6.25 inches) and third in the 200 (22.47).
Outdoors, his 11.07 in the 100-meter dash leads Class A and is tied with Taevion Sweeney of Louisville Male for fourth fastest overall. His 22.41 in the 200 is likewise the quickest in Class A and third in the state, and his 19-foot-7 leap in the long jump is eighth best.
As a junior last year, he was fifth in the 100 (10.99), third in the 200 (22.24) and ninth in the long jump (20-2 ¼).
Ford took up the long jump to improve his sprint mechanics. He said the 100 is his favorite event in a Goldilocks and the Three Bears way – the distance is just right.
“(The 55-meter), I just feel like it’s a little too short, and the 200, I’m a little bit out of breath after that,” he said. “Most people may disagree with that, but the 100 is a perfect distance for me, and I really like that.”
Ford was also a wide receiver on NewCath’s football team for four years. From 2023-24, he caught 43 passes for 773 yards and 11 touchdowns. (He also ran for 42 yards and a score.)
“I am actually very happy with how it went,” Ford said. “I just like to be able to contribute as a team, even if that meant not throwing the ball very much because we were more of a run-heavy team.”
NewCath freshman Will Stevie called Ford “one of the fastest people” he’s ever met. He recalled what Ford told him last football season.
“I was kind of upset about how my playing time was, and he just told me to keep working and be better,” Stevie said.
Mom knew best
Ford played football and basketball his freshman and sophomore seasons. His mom, Amy Ford, had another idea – try out for track because he was always a faster kid.
“I was kind of saying no, I don’t really want to,” Ford said. “But she said, ‘Just give it a try for a week and see how it goes.’
“I tried it for that week, and I just started to love it. I fell in love with the sport.
Running for NewCath can be a challenge.
Until the new on-campus athletic complex opens (athletic director Jeff Schulkens said Friday it could be in October, weather-permitting), the Thoroughbreds go to Newport High School or an open field in Dayton. When it’s time for hill work, the steep incline off Carothers Road to the school works.
‘So exciting’
For Etherton, a 2014 Highlands and 2018 Thomas More University alumna, watching Ford in the 55 was a flashback to her high school days.
“It was so exciting,” she said. “When I watch him getting into his blocks, I get the nerves that I had when I was an athlete myself getting ready to start a race because I know he’s capable of so much.”
Ford was the 2-seed in the 55 behind Beechwood senior Luke Erdman. Ford thought his start went “very well.”
“I feel like the whole race … I was in the front of the pack,” Ford said, “and I knew it’s only just a little bit more, so I just had to keep that pace up for only 55 meters … I was getting pushed from behind because I heard (Erdman) coming.”
Ford’s competitive track career will end – he plans to attend the University of Kentucky – but he wants to join former Thoroughbreds Steve Galichio (1967), Ken Galichio (1971), Quinn McMurtry (1968), Steve Battershell (1988), Jamey Neltner (1989), Rick Mariani (1990), Casey Meyer (1998) and Sam Barth (2007) as individual state outdoor champions.
And pass along what he’s learned.
“I want to be remembered as a team leader, somebody you can always like count on to be there and to be guiding the younger kids,” Ford said. “And somebody who always brings the energy and just has a good time and always is positive.”
