Tum becomes first RMAC winner
With all the success the men's cross country and track teams have had at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, they have been missing one thing-a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual champion.
That changed last weekend at the RMAC indoor championships, which was hosted by the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.
Moses Tum won the mile in 4:18, becoming the first RMAC champion for the men in the university's history.
"It felt good," said the senior from Kenya. "The race was slow, but I tried to be smart."
Coach Graeme Badger was pleased with Tum, who will be competing at the Division II Indoor Championship meet.
"The turns on that track are real tight," said Badger. "He (Tum) ran the way he needed to for the win."
Freshman Levi Brathall earned All-RMAC honors by finishing sixth in the 5K. Brathall's time of 15 minutes, 33 seconds (low 15 after conversion) is not an improvement from his time at the Iowa State Classic meet. His previous time of 14 minutes, 46 seconds qualified Brathall provisionally, but is not fast enough to make the final list.
"Being All-RMAC is nice, I don't want to seem unappreciative," said Brathall. "But, I wanted to run fast enough to have a shot at nationals, and I didn't. So, in that sense, it was sort of disappointing."
Brad Winn doubled in the mile and the 3,000-meter run. A sophomore this season, Winn has made significant improvements since joining the Mountain Lions.
Also competing for CU-Colorado Springs were freshmen Aaron Rubalcab-Lopez, John Tucker, and Kyle Reid.
"We had some people sick and injured, and we just wanted them to take their time and get healthy for outdoor," said Badger. "Outdoor is usually a little better for us because the weather gets nice and we have better training opportunities."
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
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 | Levi Brathall | |||
| Levi Brathall | |||
| Levi Brathall | Distance | ||
| Levi Brathall | Distance | ||
| John Tucker | ||||
 | John Tucker | Distance | ||
| John Tucker | |||
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2, 2004 | Tum named All-American in two events | Moses Tum accomplished one University of Colorado at Colorado Springs first when he qualified for the finals in two events at the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He managed another first on Wednesday by being named All-American in both. | |
| May 28, 2004 |  | Tum earns chance to attempt unprecedented double | Moses Tum will attempt a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs first after all. |
| May 27, 2004 | Tum takes second in prelims, advances to finals | Moses Tum just keeps on getting better and better. | |
| May 18, 2004 | Five Lions qualify for nationals | Three Colorado Springs natives were among the school-record five athletes that earned the right to represent the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at the NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held from May 27-29 at Walnut, Calif. | |
| May 9, 2004 |  | Men's track fries as RMAC championships | The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs men's track team is going from the frying pan into the fire - almost literally. |
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