COLLEGIATE CHECK-IN Babbitt pushes self on collegiate team
Student athletes are typically tasked with learning on the field and in the classroom, and one of the former stars of the Tioga Bulldogs athletic program, Justice Babbitt, is taking full advantage of her opportunity to gain as much experience as possible.
The 2024 graduate of Tioga High School just finished her first year at East Texas A&M University, where she is a member of the Lady Lions’ track team and cheer squad.
“I love it there,” she said. “It all depends on where you go, who's your coach, and who you're around, and I picked a great school. After I found out about [East Texas A&M], I met the coach, and I looked at the facility. I didn't want to go anywhere else because the coach was great … and it's like a small town, which is what I'm used to. A lot of our district meets and games from high school were around there, so I was familiar with the place, and that really helped.”
Babbitt competes on the track team under the direction of head coach George Pincock, who led the Lady Lions to a sixth-place finish at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships and had three runners named to the SLC All-Conference Team.
“Our coach is great,” Babbitt said. “We can talk about anything, and he knows everything. Even if we don't say anything to anyone, he always finds out about it. I don't know how, but he does. But we always do have a good respect for him, and my teammates are great as well. We all just have a good time, and everyone is enjoyable to be around. Everyone pushes each other to do better, and it's just a great place to be.”
Babbitt redshirted in her first season with the team, but she emphasized how she used her front-row seat to learn as much as she could from her teammates and coaches.
“There are multiple kids on our team from different countries that have competed in the Olympics this past year,” she said. “Some of them did pretty well, and I get to see these people go out and do incredible things, and it feels like I'm part of their process. I'm helping push them, so I’m seeing them apply what they've learned and then take their lessons and use them to push myself and see what I can achieve.”
Babbitt said shifting from the small town of Tioga to Division 1 athletics has been an eye-opening experience.
“Coming back to Tioga, I still have all the records that I set, and no one beat them this year, which is great, but I had to realize that people are faster than me at this [bigger] school, and there are people better than me, so I learned to focus on myself and work on my own time. Once I did that, I started noticing that throughout this process these people may have beaten me but also ran a personal record, and I can't control if someone's running faster than me. I just have to get better myself.”
While Babbitt is going into her second season of athletics, she’ll be going into her senior year academically.
“In first grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, so I've always had a little bit of a disadvantage, but I always made my grades more of a priority than most people,” she said. “I've had to work harder because I'm not naturally the smartest person in the room, but I also worked 10 times harder in high school. I graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA, and I have a 3.8 right now, which is one of the highest in our entire track team. We even have this plaque in our gym at Commerce, and it has everyone with a 3.0 and higher, and I'm on it.”
Babbitt is studying business with the plan of earning her master’s degree once she completes her bachelor’s and then one day becoming a pharmaceutical sales representative.
With her first year of higher education under her belt, Babbitt offered words of wisdom for any area athletes that may be following.
One is to prioritize faith. “I joined a group there called Athletes in Action, and it's great,” she said. “A lot of our track team is on the team there, and it's just a great way for us to connect. One thing I did in high school is we did the things called prayer circles before district meets, and it helps.”
She also said, “if someone's going to beat you, let it be because they're better than you.”
“Go out there and don't run the race to get first,” Babbitt said. “Don't do it for gold. Go out there and do it for the PR.”
She also suggested that others “not just go out there and chase your dreams but run them down.”
“So go out there and just attack your dreams and don't give up on them,” Babbitt said. “And if they work out great, and if they don't, then at least you know you tried.”
