A hard-fought five-year battle ended on Monday September 21, 2015 as UC Davis alum Sarah Sumpter passed away from cancer. 

 

The NorCal Distance Project athlete learned that she had a significant tumor in her brain during the fall of 2010. One year after her diagnosis, Sumpter returned to competition with an inspiring drive to continue to represent the UC Davis squad. 

Watch her interview from the summer of 2011 as she recounts her experience:

 

September 10, the day of Sumpter’s initial cancer diagnosis, became “Stump Day” to the UC Davis track and cross country program, who remember the day as a representation of “a milestone and symbolic step forward in a continually evolving process.”

 

Sumpter continued to move forward throughout her college career at Davis. She underwent treatment and kept running for the UC Davis Aggies, where she went on to earn second team All American honors during her senior year with a 14th-place finish in the 10K at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Sumpter also collected numerous personal bests in her senior year of competition, first with the 5K at the Stanford Invitational (16:09) and later in the 10K at the Payton Jordan Invitational (33:18). 

 

Sumpter was training for her marathon debut this fall at the New York City Marathon with the hope of competing at the 2016 Olympic Trials. More recently, Sumpter collected a win in the women’s division of the Kenwood Footrace 10K on July 4.  

The Sumpter family has created an online fundraiser on GoFundMe.com that is meant to raise money to benefit all the programs and causes that were important to her. If you would like to donate, please click here.

Days after Sumpter's passing, the UC Davis athletic department created a video tribute to honor the former Aggie's impact on the program.