Woodbridge’s Babcock makes early statement

Molly Babcock couldn’t believe her eyes.

She crossed the finish line in first place in the 1,600 meters at last week’s Irvine Invitational track meet — no surprise there — but had to do a double-take when she saw her posted time.

4 minutes, 54.80 seconds.

“After I finished I was like, ‘Is that the real time?’ I couldn’t believe it,” said Babcock, a senior at Woodbridge High School. “Then I was thinking I could do better. It wasn’t really a great race for me. I was, OK, that was a good time, but let’s get on with the season. Don’t let it go to your head.”

That might be a tough task for some. Babcock not only broke the 5-minute mark, but her time was the No. 1 time for the 1,600 in the nation this season for girls.

“It was actually a really funny race for me because the night before I was really nervous,” said Babcock, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Cal-Berkeley. “I was thinking this was going to be the most competitive race I’ve had since my sophomore year. And then the day of, I was not nervous at all. I was so not nervous, I was thinking what’s wrong with me?”

Turns out nothing. And in fact, it seemed to help her focus.

“My coach (distance coach George Varvas) had given me a plan, but he knows I never follow his plan, ever,” Babcock said with a chuckle. “I just run and whatever happens, happens. But this time I actually followed his instructions to a ‘T.’ And every single lap was spot on.”

Varvas instructed Babcock to run in the third or fourth position for the first two laps, then move into the second position in the third lap, and then turn it up on the fourth and final lap, knowing Babcock’s kick is the strongest part of her game.

“I could hear him really well for some reason,” Babcock said of the race. “I was tuning out everyone except for his voice, so I could hear him across the track.”

About the only thing that might have held back Babcock was the competition. Xochitl Navarette of Colony High finished in second place, less than three seconds behind Babcock.

“The girl who got second is going to be my teammate next year (at Cal),” Babcock said. “So I was in the race thinking I feel kinda weird. Should I hold myself back a little? We’re going to be teammates. I didn’t want her to dislike me.”

Babcock’s teammates at Cal should like her plenty if she continues to improve at the pace she’s on. Also a key member of Woodbridge’s cross-country team, running is what Babcock does.

Her parents, Dan and Kelly, met at a running club. Her older sisters, Jessie and Christine, were runners. So when Molly followed her sisters into high school, she thought it would be a piece of cake.

“I kinda went into my freshman year thinking, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll run, it’ll come so naturally, I’ll be good, I don’t have to work hard,’” Babcock said. “So my freshman year was a complete and total waste of time.”

Babcock had so much trouble running the distances she actually switched to hurdles. But she said during the summer before her sophomore year, “something happened,” and she decided to work hard and devote herself to distance running.

She was on the varsity cross-country team for three years, and now is in her third year on the varsity track team. She said she likes track better, but it hasn’t always translated to success.

“I’ve always had an injury,” she said. “Last year I had a high ankle sprain and I was in a cast for two months in the heat of the season.”

She returned to the track two weeks before the Pacific Coast League finals, then won the 1,600 in the league finals before coming up short at CIF in her quest to go to the State Meet.

“Last year was kind of a bust of a season, so I have a lot riding on this season,” Babcock said. “I really want to get to the State Meet.”