Minnesota graduate student-athlete Abby Kohut-Jackson, a four-time NCAA Division 1 cross country nationals qualifier and 3,000-meter steeplechase finalist, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss placing seventh at the Big Ten Championships in State College, Pa., and helping the Gophers capture their first women's team title since 2008. Kohut-Jackson shares the relief and exhilaration she experienced after being with the program for six years, including a pair of runner-up team finishes at the conference final, and finally securing the championship with a six-point victory over Wisconsin. She also reveals how meaningful the celebration was that the team and coaching staff enjoyed at their hotel following the race. Kohut-Jackson reveals her pride after earning the second top-10 finish at the conference finals in a calendar year, including placing eighth in January in Indiana. She also analyzes how roommates Megan Hasz and Bethany Hasz have both won Big Ten individual cross country crowns in the same calendar year. Kohut-Jackson looks forward to the Midwest Regional meet Nov. 12 and a showdown with Oklahoma State and Iowa State, the top two teams in the Big 12 Conference, after competing against both programs Oct. 15 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Minnesota finished fourth at Nuttycombe, ahead of fifth-place Oklahoma State and eighth-place Iowa State, with Kohut-Jackson and the Hasz sisters all placing in the top 15 individually. Kohut-Jackson also looks ahead to the Nov. 20 national championship meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., and the Gophers' aspirations to achieve a podium finish after placing fifth March 15 in Stillwater, Okla., by a 27-point margin behind conference rival Michigan State. She examines how significant it is to join the rare group of student-athletes who will have the opportunity to compete at a fifth Division 1 cross country final as a result of the extra eligibility granted by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kohut-Jackson also explains how motivated she is to earn All-America honors for the first time after placing 45th at the March 15 final, in addition to finishing 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final June 12 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., after producing a personal-best 9:41.20 in the semifinals. She also shares the details of her Masters program in Biological Sciences with a focus on Behavioral Neuroscience in animals, after already earning undergraduate degrees in Neuroscience in December and Spanish in May, and her ambition to attend medical school at St. Louis University in the fall of 2022.