Top Local Stories: No. 3, Healdsburg track runner Sarah Sumpter dead at 25

3. This year saw the death of indomitable state-champion runner Sarah Sumpter at age 25.

Sumpter died in September after a five-year battle with brain cancer.

A state champ at Healdsburg High School and record-setter at UC Davis, Sumpter beat an eating disorder in high school and competed in college athletics while fighting the disease.

She earned a bachelor’s degree at UC Davis and was the school’s most decorated women’s cross-country runner while on chemotherapy, demonstrating lessons of strength and courage far beyond those learned in a classroom or sports competition.

Sumpter burst onto the competitive running scene in 2006 when, in her first season of cross country, she finished 11th in the California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championship meet.

The following season Sumpter became a state champion, winning the 2007 CIF Division IV cross country title. She was The Press Democrat’s All-Empire cross country runner of the year for the 2007 season.

In 2008, Sumpter went public with her eating disorder. While trying to shave seconds off her race times, she became obsessive about her weight. The 5-foot-1 teen shrank to as little as 94 pounds.

She shared her story in The Press Democrat, hoping to help other girls and young women.

Through that battle and later with her don’t-give-in attitude toward cancer, “Stump,” as her friends called her, forged a courageous path that inspired others.

In late 2009, Sumpter went on to win the Big West Conference championship and placed 22nd at the NCAA West Regional tournament. She was a three-time Big West All-Academic athlete.

One year later, a day before her first meet of the season, Sumpter was diagnosed with brain cancer. Surgery removed much of the tumor, but a portion too difficult to remove remained, and was treated with drugs.

The cancer returned last year, expanding farther than it had originally.

Her family created a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $16,000 toward a permanent legacy in Sumpter’s honor.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.