Ella Gilson, a junior at Harvard and a member of the past two Ivy League Heptagonal women's cross country team championships along with being a two-time Ohio Division 2 state title holder in cross country for Hawken High, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss competing for the first time in her career at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational presented by Under Armour on Oct. 13 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison. Gilson has achieved a pair of top-10 finishes for Harvard this season, securing second place Sept. 9 at Harvard-Yale-Princeton at Allen's Meadows in Connecticut, and earning eighth Sept. 29 at Battle in Beantown at Franklin Park, helping the Crimson to victory at the latter event. She reflects on placing seventh last year at the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, the same weekend several of her Harvard teammates competed at Nuttycombe, and how excited Gilson is to travel to Madison this season. Gilson examines her development and improvement under the guidance and mentorship of Harvard coach Alex Gibby and continuing to build her confidence and belief each season, which has contributed to her becoming the team's No. 2 runner behind All-American and reigning NCAA Division 1,500-meter champion Maia Ramsden. She explains how beneficial it has been to train with Ramsden, in addition to a roster with so much depth and versatility, and looks forward to Harvard reaching its potential during the postseason. Gilson analyzes how valuable it is for Harvard to compete in such a large, elite field at Nuttycombe in preparation for racing Oct. 28 at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Franklin Park, along with the Northeast Regional on Nov. 10 at Van Cortlandt Park. She speaks about how significant it is for Harvard to have captured two straight Ivy League Heptagonal women's cross country team titles, the program's first back-to-back crowns since winning five in a row from 1981-85. Gilson also highlights the motivation for Harvard to advance to a third NCAA Division 1 final in five seasons and seventh in program history, following a fourth-place finish last year at the Northeast Regional, and how excited she is for the chance to compete against Providence, Syracuse and Columbia as part of the Nuttycombe field.

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST OCTOBER 13 OF NUTTYCOMBE WISCONSIN INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY UNDER ARMOUR ON RUNNERSPACE+PLUS