California Collegiate Athletics Association

Born in Czechoslovakia, Petra (Juraskova) Babbitt came to Cal State LA in 1995 after spending two years at BYU. She made quite an impact in her two seasons competing in track and field for the Golden Eagles, winning five individual national championships and helping the Cal State LA field program become one of the best in the country.

During her heavily decorated career, Babbitt was twice named CCAA Athlete of the Year, distinction owned by just a handful of conference competitors. Babbitt helped the Golden Eagles to the CCAA team title in 1996, after winning league titles in the shot put and discus, while also taking second in the hammer throw. She then went on to win both of her top events at the NCAA National Championships, adding to her trophy case after taking in indoor shot put national title earlier that spring.

In 1997, she again performed at her peak at the CCAA Championships, repeating as champion both in the shot put and discus while adding an individual conference title in the javelin during her final collegiate season. At the 1997 NCAA National Championships, she again earned the title in the shot put, both indoor and outdoor, to run her NCAA title tally to five. Along with her five podium-topping performances, she compiled All-American honors on eight occasions.

Babbitt still holds some of the top marks in Cal State LA track and field history, landing in the all-time Top 5 in the shot put (indoor and outdoor), hammer throw (indoor and outdoor) and discus. She was inducted into the Cal State LA Hall of Fame in 2009, and then the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame the following year.