Ali Upshaw, a former Arizona Division 4 state cross country champion at St. Michael Indian competing in her freshman eligibility season for the University of New Mexico, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to preview the NCAA Division 1 championship meet Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. New Mexico has produced 11 consecutive top-10 finishes and seven straight top seven performances at the Division 1 final, looking to secure its first national title since 2017. Upshaw analyzes how valuable that Harvard transfer Abbe Goldstein, along with the addition of Stefanie Parsons, a former NCAA Division 2 All-American at Edinboro, have been to the Lobos' lineup. She also examines how significant it is to have student-athletes with experience racing in championship events, such as European competitors Emma Heckel of Germany, Andrea Modin Engsaeth of Norway, Elise Thorner of Great Britain and Adva Cohen of Israel, as well as Amelia Mazza-Downie of Australia and Hannah Miller of New Zealand, along with Canadian standouts Gracelyn Larkin and Parsons. Upshaw explains how meaningful the opportunity to wear turquoise is for a member of the Navajo community, since shades of blue are very powerful for Native Americans. She shares the presence of the four sacred mountains – Tsoodzil, Dibé Ntsaa, Dook’o’oosliid and Sisnaajini – and how Tsoodzil is the turquoise mountain. Upshaw talks about the teaching of nahat’á, which means plan, and how every time New Mexico wears turquoise, it means they understand the racing plan of coach Joe Franklin and how the Lobos are ready to execute it, just like they did Oct. 15 by winning the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Upshaw revisits New Mexico sweeping the top seven spots Oct. 29 at the Mountain West Conference final in Albuquerque, along with winning the Mountain Regional meet Nov. 12 in Provo, Utah, and the confidence she has gained from being a scorer for the Lobos in both meets after placing third in the open race at Nuttycombe. She shares how much she has learned and improved since racing twice in the fall and how strong the motivation is for New Mexico to return to the podium and contend for a team title after placing sixth at the March 15 final in Arizona. Upshaw explains how powerful it would for her to represent the Navajo community and all Native Americans by contributing to a national championship for New Mexico.