Southern Utah redshirt junior Alison Pray, a two-time NCAA Division 1 cross country finalist, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss the Thunderbirds traveling to Tallahassee, Fla., to race Feb. 5 at the Florida State Winter XC Classic at Apalachee Regional Park. Pray placed fifth Oct. 23 in the 6-kilometer race at the Oklahoma State Invitational, competing on the same course that will be the host site March 15 for the NCAA championship meet. She examines the split seasons of cross country competition and shares how Southern Utah has only resumed training for a few weeks after winter break. Pray reflects on her performance at Oklahoma State and the opportunity to compete against Brigham Young, the host Cowboys along with Colorado athletes racing unattached, as the Thunderbirds finished second overall, led by Pray clocking 21:09.5. She analyzes the field for the Florida State Winter Classic and the chance to race against Stanford, Colorado, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Syracuse and several other strong programs, and the challenges that will be presented to her and the Southern Utah lineup. Pray speaks about the improvement of her teammates, and how much the entire group committed to training and development during the pandemic. She revisits the results from the Silver State Collegiate XC Challenge on Feb. 1 in North Las Vegas, and the first chance to assess performances from reigning Big Sky conference champion Northern Arizona, since the Lumberjacks weren't able to race along with their men's team in October in Stillwater, when a false positive COVID-19 test by an athlete prevented the entire women's roster from traveling to Oklahoma State. Pray looks ahead to the Big Sky championship meet Feb. 27, hosted by Weber State in Ogden, Utah, and competing against Taryn O'Neill of Northern Arizona as well as Camila Noe of Montana State for the individual title, with the Thunderbirds preparing to square off against Northern Arizona, Weber State and Idaho for the team crown. She also hopes to be able to race Feb. 19 in Las Vegas as a final tuneup.