Ciara O'Shea, a junior at Madison Central High in Kentucky and a three-time Class AAA state cross country champion along with being an indoor winner at 1,500 and 3,000 meters as well as an outdoor title holder at 1,600 and 3,200 meters, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss becoming the first Kentucky female competitor to win the Race of Champions at the Great American Cross Country Festival by running a lifetime-best 17:08.9 on the 5-kilometer layout Oct. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C. O'Shea also produced the fastest performance by a Kentucky female athlete at Wake Med, eclipsing the 2017 mark of 17:30.1 achieved by Kaitlyn Lacy of Louisville Male, in addition to elevating to the No. 6 all-time performer at Great American and the No. 12 competitor in WakeMed history. She examines joining the elite athletes in meet history as a Great American champion and shares how significant a breakthrough it was to accomplish a personal-best effort by more than 30 seconds. O'Shea analyzes how valuable her experiences have been in racing as a freshman at the Foot Locker South Regional in North Carolina, and last season at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, at the LaVern Gibson Course, and how they helped prepare her for competing against an elite national field at Great American. She also speaks about how working with Madison Central coach James Mutuse, along with the knowledge gained from her mother and former Eastern Kentucky star Jamie O'Shea and brother Conner O'Shea, now competing at East Carolina, have helped her become a better tactical competitor. O'Shea shares her desire to compete Nov. 27 at the Foot Locker South Regional, with the aspirations to qualify for her first national final Dec. 11 in San Diego after finishing 21st at the 2019 regional meet. She also shares her motivation to secure a fourth consecutive Class AAA state title Oct. 30 at the Bourbon Cross Country Course and lead Madison Central to another top-10 finish after the Indians improved from 18th in 2019 to 10th last year.