On the wall of the gym at Pojoaque High School, there’s a board that lists the school-record times in track and field. At the top of the list in the 100-meter dash is Kimberly Babicke’s name, with a time of 12.11 seconds.
Pojoaque will have to change the numbers on that board. Babicke, just a sophomore, has already run a 12.07 this year. It’s the fastest qualifying time in the state in Class AAA this season and Babicke is the defending state champion.
She also owns the record in the 200-meter run (25.57 seconds) and was a member of three record-setting relays — the 800-meter, 1600-meter and 1600-medley — at the 2007 state meet, when she was just an eighth-grader.
There may be another Babicke on that list soon. Amanda Babicke, Kimberly’s sister, already runs varsity for Pojoaque as an eighth-grader. She’ll likely run on relay teams at this year’s Class AAA state track meet.
Amanda said she usually doesn’t mind following in her sister’s footsteps.
“It’s kinda nice to be her sister,” Amanda said. “Some people expect me to be like her, and I’m not.”
Both Kimberly and Amanda started when they were young, their mother Monica Babicke said.
“When Kim was almost six and Amanda was four, we started them in the TNT (Thermo Nuclear Track) club in Los Alamos — and the rest is history,” Monica Babicke said. “You could tell when they were little they’d do well.”
Monica Babicke ran track for Robertson High School before enrolling in New Mexico Highlands University, where she met Tim Babicke, an Albuquerque native who played collegiate golf.
Tim Babicke said his daughters’ record-setting habits are nothing new.
“Kim was always one age-group ahead of Amanda,” he said. “Kim would set records and Amanda would break them. This is the first time they’ve been able to run a relay together, and it’s been fun to see.”
The beneficiary of the sisters’ talent has been Pojoaque coach Bob Koski, who first met the Babickes through Junior Olympics.
“They’ve been focused and dedicated since day one,” Koski said. “I’ve never had to motivate them to practice and compete.”