6/19/08

Heading into the 2008 track season, Christine Babcock was already an incredibly successful runner with two Division II California state cross country titles and two California state 1,600 meter titles under her belt. Because she had opted not to participate in post-season events such as the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships and Nike Outdoor Nationals, she was mostly known inside of California, and nationally among those who followed high school running relatively closely. Her performances in the 2008 season, however, have been virtually impossible to miss. On May 31st, Babcock made national headlines when she set a new national high school federation record of 4:33.82 in the 1,600 while winning her third-straight California state title. Among high school runners, only Polly Plummer's high school mile record of 4:35.24 from 1982 is considered to be superior, and only by a couple tenths of a second.