Loras College of Iowa senior Kassie (Rosenbum) Parker, the reigning NCAA Division 3 cross country title holder and 2019 national champion in the 10,000 meters, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss her 6-kilometer victory Nov. 20 in 20:11.1 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., becoming the first female cross country winner in program history. Parker shares her ambitions to be agressive from the outset, resulting in a wire-to-wire victory. She also explains her decision to wear Nike ZoomX Vaporfly shoes for the race, instead of spiking up, and why they benefit her on the course, including her ability to surge on areas where crushed limestone is present. Parker revisits her fifth-place finish at the same venue at the 2019 Division 3 championship meet and how it was a mental challenge for her to remain motivated during the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021 without true national competitons on the schedule. She reflects on her schedule and emphasizes how significant the opportunities were to compete against Division 1 and 2 student-athletes. Parker analyzes her only setback of the season Sept. 17 at Notre Dame and how she used that experience to propel herself to victory in her final five races, including Oct. 16 at the Lewis and Clark Invite against several Division 1 and 2 competitors in Oregon. She expresses her respect to Johns Hopklns for equaling the all-time women's mark with a seventh national team title and examines how important it is to continue to raise the standard of competition in Division 3 going forward. Parker, who was second in the 10,000 final and placed seventh in the 5,000 championship race, also speaks about Loras winning the Division 3 women's outdoor track and field team title in May with a 58-56 victory over Wisconsin-LaCrosse and how instrumental several teammates were in rising to the occasion in order to achieve the goal. She also recalls how the celebration was delayed for more than an hour as a result of multiple protests, before the result became official. Parker also reflects on beginning her high school career as a volleyball player at Guttenberg, a 1A school in the Clayton Ridge District in Iowa, and how she started in cross country as a sophomore and was the last finisher on the team and had yet to break the 20-minute barrier for a 5-kilometer race upon her graduation. She shares how her academic focus in Kinesiology has helped her become a more complete runner, in addition to explaining why the collaboration with coach Bob Schultz and assistant Ethan Adlfinger has worked so well for her during her Loras career. Parker looks ahead to starting her Masters program in coaching and leadership upon completing her undergraduate work in December, and speks about her aspirations to climb the Division 3 all-time lists in both indoor and outdoor track next year.