Christine Babcock
American distance runner
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Christine Babcock (born 19 May 1990) is an American former long-distance runner. She is an Oiselle professional athlete and competed in the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon as a high school athlete. She set two national high school records at the distances of 1500 and 1600 meters respectively. Running for the Washington Huskies track and field program, she was a two-time All-American collegiate athlete. She represented the United States internationally at the 2015 Pan American Cross Country Cup, where she won the team gold medal.[1]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Christine Babcock |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and Field |
Event(s) | 800 meters, 1500 meters, 1600 meters |
Early life and education
Babcock was born in Laguna Hills, California. Her parents met at a running club and her mother, Kelly Babcock, competed in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.[2] Christine is the middle of three daughters.[2]
Christine attended Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California.[2] She graduated at the University of Washington in 2013.[2]
Athletic career
High school
Babcock's first major victory in track and field came by winning the girls' 2006 outdoor 1600 meter CIF California State Meet title in 4:41.29 (with a margin of over 1 second) as a sophomore.[3]
During the following cross country season, she won the CIF Division II State Championships by 13 second with a time of 17:20.[4] In the spring she won her second straight 1600 meter state title in 4:38.85, a new California Interscholastic Federation Record at the time.[5]
In her senior year, Babcock again won the State cross country Division II title, this time in the fastest time of the meet, 17:04. In 2008 track, she won her third straight CIF state meet by 16 seconds in the 1600 meters, was a national high school record of 4:33.82[2] until 2014 when Alexa Efraimson ran faster at the Washington State meet. Additionally, she won the Mt. SAC Relays 1500 meter race in 4:16.42, at the time a national record.[2] This allowed her to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials.[2] Her record would later be broken by Jordan Hasay at the 2008 US Olympic trials in a time of 4:14.50.
College
In the 2008 cross country season, Babcock led the University of Washington to the program's first NCAA championship.[2] She was the first finisher for the Huskies, at seventh place overall, with a time of 20:02.[2] In track, she set a personal best time of 4:15.10 in the 1500 meters at the NCAA National Championship preliminaries. She later went on to finish 11th in the finals.
2009 led to another All-American performance in cross country, with Babcock finishing 34th nationally. Her team finished 3rd nationally.[2] She also placed fifth in the Pac-10 Conference championships.
In January 2010 Babcock stopped running due to an injury in her right foot.[2] Her athletic hiatus lasted seven months.[2] She then missed the 2011 season due to an Achilles tendon injury.[2]
On November 30, 2011, she was named the "Pac-12 Scholar Athlete Of The Year" with a 3.93 grade point average.[2][6]
| Year | Competition | Place | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | U.S. Olympic Trials | 18th | 1500m |
| 2008 | Pac-10 XC | 3rd | (3rd UW) |
| 2008 | NCAA Regional XC | 3rd | (1st UW) |
| 2008 | NCAA XC | 7th | (1st UW) (All-America) |
| 2009 | MPSF TF | 2nd | Mile |
| 2009 | MPSF TF | 1st | DMR (MPSF Champion) |
| 2009 | NCAA Indoors | 8th | DMR (All-America) |
| 2009 | Pac-10 TF | 3rd | 800m |
| 2009 | NCAA Regional TF | 7th | 1500m |
| 2009 | NCAA Outdoors | 11th | 1500m |
| 2009 | Pac-10 XC | 5th | (3rd UW) |
| 2009 | NCAA Regional XC | 10th | (5th UW) |
| 2009 | NCAA XC | 34th | (4th UW) (All-America) |
| 2010 | Pac-10 XC | 19th | (5th UW) |
| 2010 | Regional XC | 19th | (3rd UW) |
| 2010 | NCAA XC | 114th | (4th UW) |
| 2011 | Pac-12 XC | 12th | (2nd UW) |
| 2011 | Regional XC | 14th | (5th UW) |
| 2011 | NCAA XC | 62nd | (3rd UW) |
| 2012 | MPSF TF | 8th | 3000m |
| 2012 | Pac-12 TF | 7th | 5000m |
| 2012 | NCAA Prelims TF | 14th | 1500m |
| 2013 | MPSF TF | 3rd | 3000m |
| 2013 | MPSF TF | 1st | DMR (MPSF Champion) |
| 2013 | NCAA Indoors | 13th | Mile (All-America Second Team) |
| 2013 | Pac-12 TF | 11th | 1500m |
| 2013 | NCAA Prelims TF | 7th | 5000m |
| 2013 | NCAA Outdoors | 11th | 5000m (All-America Second Team) |
| 2013 | USA Outdoor Champs | 11th | 5000m |
Professional
Beginning in 2013, Babcock was sponsored by Oiselle and trained under coach Lauren Fleshman in Bend, Oregon.[7] She is now retired from professional running and is working in the medical field.[7]
2015 Boulder USA Cross Country Championships Christine Babcock placed 13th.[8]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | USA Cross Country Senior | Flatirons Golf Course, Boulder, Colorado | 13th | 8000 m | 29:06[9] |
| 2015 | Pan American Cross Country | Avenida al Río Golf Course, Barranquilla, Colombia | 9th | 7000 m | 22:03[10][11] |
Personal life
Performance at select events
| Competition | Result | Time | Distance | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 CIF State Championships | 1st | 4:41.29 | 1600 m | Cerritos | 2006–6–3 |
| 2006 CIF State Championships | 1st | 17:20 | 5000 m | Fresno | 2006-11-25 |
| 2007 CIF State Championships | 1st | 4:38.85 | 1600 m | Sacramento | 2007–6–2 |
| 2007 CIF State Championships | 1st | 17:04 | 5000 m | Fresno | 2007-11-24 |
| 2008 CIF State Championships | 1st | 4:33.82 NR | 1600 m | Cerritos | 2008–5–31 |
| Mt. SAC High Performance Challenge | 1st | 4:16.42 | 1500 m | Walnut | 2008–6–15 |
Personal bests
| Distance | Mark | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 m | 2:06.55 | 2009-04-11 | Tempe, Arizona |
| 1,500 m | 4:16.10 | 2009-05-23 | NCAA prelims |
| 1,600 m | 4:33.82 | 2008-05-31 | Cerritos, California |
