Reigning NAIA women's cross country champion Alyssa Bearzi, an Australian standout who also placed 11th for Milligan University in Tennessee in the 5,000 meters at the indoor nationals in March in South Dakota, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss becoming the first female athlete in program history to capture the individual cross country title in addition to helping the Buffaloes sweep the team titles for the first time Nov. 19 at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash. Bearzi, 21, shares the inspiration gained from the men's team winning their 8-kilometer race and how much motivation it provided the women's team to achieve similar success in the 5-kilometer race. She reflects not only on a conversation with a teammate prior to the race about winning the individual title, but explains the patience it required to make the decisive move when it mattered most to prevail in 18:14.9, becoming the first female competitor to win both individual and team championships in the same season since Maria Bernard accomplished the impressive double in 2014 for Simon Fraser of Canada. Bearzi revisits the challenges she faced with acclimating to a new school, culture and training environment when she arrived from Australia earlier in the year, resulting in illness and injuries, which contributed to her performance at NAIA Indoor Nationals and kept her sidelined for the majority of the outdoor season with a stress fracture in her ankle. She credits a return trip to Australia in the summer to help with her mental health, in addition to creating a foundation to rebuild her fitness for the fall cross country season. Bearzi speaks about her collaboration with Milligan coach Chris Layne and how he continued to provide workouts for her when she was in Australia, and how instrumental he has been in her cross country success, which also included winning the Appalachian Athletic Conference title Nov. 6 in Georgia. She also credits teammates Lemi Wutz and Avery DeWolf Burton, who finished fifth and 11th at the NAIA cross country championship meet, and how meaningful it was to have training partners to challenge her throughout the season. Bearzi also explains how valuable it has been to witness the training consistency and racing performances of Emily Kearney, who secured the 5,000 and 10,000 titles for Milligan at the NAIA Outdoor Championships in May in Alabama. She speaks about her goals and ambitions to win mulitple national titles on the track, with the aspiration of competing on the distance medley relay indoors after Milligan placed second at the NAIA Championships in March. Bearzi also shares her academic pursuits in business, with an emphasis in marketing, and how her post-collegiate goals also include becoming a teacher.