By Emily Diekelmann, MASCAC Director of Media Relations

Sibling rivalry is a concept that has been around since the beginning. Whether it was Cain and Abel, Romulus and Remus or more recently Peyton and Eli Manning, the idea of sibling rivalry will always be a setting in any competition. For Krysta and Sadie Zbikowski, sisters who compete in cross country and track and field for Bridgewater State and Fitchburg State, sibling rivalry has nothing to do with it.

Krysta, a senior biology major at Bridgewater State and Sadie, a sophomore business administration major at Fitchburg State, both compete in cross country and track and field for their respective schools. Krysta is a distance runner for the Bears while Sadie is a middle distance runner and does pole vault for the Falcons.

Growing up in an active family in Ashburnham, Mass., older sister Krysta got her start in cross country first in elementary school as part of a  cross country club. Little sister Sadie saw what Krysta was doing and wanted in on the action.

“When Krysta started running cross country in middle school, I thought it seemed like fun, so I joined the running club at my elementary school when I was in 4th grade,” Sadie said. “We obviously didn’t run very much, but we had short races against the middle school kids. That was my first time running with or against my sister. Then when I got to middle school, I joined the cross country team with Krysta and I’ve been running ever since.”

When it came time for Krysta to move on to college, she wanted a new experience outside of the small town she grew up in. She knew that if she stayed close to home, she wouldn’t be able to receive the complete college experience.

“Going away to college really helped me to grow more as a person,” Krysta said. “When I toured Bridgewater State, it just felt like the right fit for me.”

Sadie’s path to Fitchburg State wasn’t a direct one as she first attended the University of Connecticut her freshman year. When she started to explore the idea of transferring, the thought of running with Krysta again seemed ideal.

“I definitely considered it (Bridgewater State) when I was transferring,” Sadia said. “She tried to convince me to go there, and I was close to choosing Bridgewater State. I chose to attend Fitchburg State because it is so close to home.”

The sisters have found success as student-athletes in the MASCAC. In 2013, Krysta was named the MASCAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year after finishing first at the MASCAC Championship with a 5k time of 19:29.25. This year, Krysta finished eighth while Sadie was 31st. During this year’s MASCAC Indoor Championship, Krysta earned All-Conference honors with a first place finish in the 5,000 and followed it up with a third place showing in the 3,000. Sadie finished third in the pole vault and sixth in the 800. For Sadie, it has been great to watch her sister compete at the college level.

“I’ve always loved watching her compete,” Sadie said. “We argue and tease each other like most sisters do, but we’re pretty supportive of each other when it comes to cross country and track. It’s been great to see how good of a runner she’s become. I remember going to her meets when she was in 6th grade so it’s awesome to see how much she’s improved over the years.”

Although the two may be sisters who are on opposing teams, Krysta says there isn’t the smallest hint of a rivalry between the two of them.

“We’re both very competitive, but there’s not much of a rivalry,” Krysta said. “We joke around with each other a lot about being on different teams, but at the end of the day we support each other. The two of us have always had different strengths when it comes to track, but we’ve both found events that really work well for us. Meet days are very busy, but we always find each other to talk before and after our events.”

This Saturday they will get a chance to compete against each other again at the MASCAC/New England Alliance Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Fitchburg State. Krysta will be running in the 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000 while Sadie will run the 800 meter dash and compete in the pole vault.

Even though they won’t be competing for the same time on Saturday, one thing can be certain: they will be cheering each other on from the sidelines.