Adams State cross country All-American Morgan Hykes, No. 13 in NCAA Division 2 history in the women's 3,000 meters on a 200-meter indoor track with her 9:23.57 performance Feb. 27 at the Boston University Last Chance meet, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss making her debut March 11-12 at the Division 2 indoor championship meet at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas. Hykes, who finished 15th in the 6-kilometer race at the NCAA Division 2 Cross Country Championships on Nov. 20 in Saint Leo, Fla., to help Adams State capture the women's team title, revisits having to recover from low iron early in the winter season. She shares the challenges of having to catch up to the training level of her teammates, which also forced her to have to qualify during the last weekend of the regular season in order to secure a berth at the Division 2 indoor finals. Hykes examines the decision she and Adams State coach Damon Martin reached to compete in the 3,000 in Boston instead of racing at Western Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. She reflects on competing against athletes ranging from sponsored professionals to high school standouts and being able to remain composed and confident that she could keep pace, resulting in an eighth-place finish overall. Hykes, who is ranked fourth among the 20 qualifiers in the 3,000, analyzes Adams State having six entries in the race and the opportunities to earn multiple All-America honors and score several points for the Grizzlies in their pursuit of a podium finish after only qualifying a pair of athletes for last year's Division 2 indoor championship meet at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. She also examines teammate Brianna Robles deciding to focus on the 3,000 and 5,000, thus creating an opportunity for Hykes to anchor the Grizzlies' distance medley relay March 11 on a lineup that also includes Nicole Lawrence, Sadie Butler and Jessica Simon. Hykes also shares about her community internship, in addition to her YouTube channel and the content she has created to document the memorable cross country and indoor track and field seasons for Adams State, a passion she first developed during her high school career. Hykes also speaks about how the depth of the program is only going to continue to grow with every national qualifier eligible to return for not only the spring outdoor season, but also next year.