Tum Wins 1500 at Nationals

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs track team put the finishing touches on a fabulous weekend Saturday evening in Abilene, Texas.

Moses Tum became the school's first ever National Champion at the NCAA Div II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning the 1500 meter run with a time of 3:46.30.

The finish of the race was extremely close as Tum just edged out Adams State's Aucencio Martinez who finished in 3:46.55. Nate Iler and Mohamed Aden, who took third an fourth place, also finished within a half second of Tum.

But Tum's day wasn't over yet. An hour after he won the 1500, he also achieved All-American status in the 800 meter, finishing seventh. Tum's fine performances propelled UCCS to 17th place in the overall men's standings, the highest in school history.

Sarah Shepard was also named All-American in the steeplechase. Shepard finished in 10:55.67, good for seventh. Shepard was joined in the finals by Ashley Birger and Tina Gray who finished 10th and 11th respectively.

Tum and Shepard join fellow Mountain Lion Shannon Payne who was named All-American in the 10000 on Thursday.