Tessa Walter, a junior at Air Academy in Colorado and member of the reigning 5A state cross country championship team and a group that secured seventh place last season at Nike Cross Nationals, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss the Kadets making their debut Sept. 16 in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at the 42nd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic presented by ASICS America at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif. Walter reflects on her 16:55.8 performance on the 5-kilometer layout at Heritage High in Littleton, Colo., to take third Sept. 9 in the girls sweepstakes race at the Liberty Bell Invitational, contributing to Air Academy setting records by having five athletes finish in the top 10 and achieving the lowest winning sweepstakes total in meet history with 26 points. She shares her excitement for the opportunity to not only run at sea level on the 3-mile layout at Great Park, but to compete in perhaps the deepest regular-season girls field in U.S. prep history, with the Kadets one of 10 nationally ranked programs entered in the sweepstakes race. Walter reminisces about Air Academy securing the 5A state championship last year in the Kadets' first year in the classification and earning an at-large berth following a third-place finish at NXR Southwest in Arizona, before achieving a seventh-place finish at NXN at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. She analyzes how significant the additions of freshmen Chamorra Cooper and Mariah Hook have been to the Air Academy lineup, in addition to explaining how meaningful it is to be able to train and compete with last year's NXN runner-up and North Carolina State commit Bethany Michalak, along with Jordan Banta, Emily Beers, Olivia Chura, Lauren Myers and Sofia Kunstle. Walter also examines how inspiring it is to be one of nine female athletes in Liberty Bell meet history to eclipse the 17-minute barrier on the 5-kilometer layout at Heritage High, and shares the confidence gained from her breakthrough performance. She highlights how significant it would be for Air Academy to become the first girls team from outside California to win the Woodbridge sweepstakes title since 2016, and how valuable the experience will be for the Kadets in their pursuit of not only returning to race Dec. 2 at NXN, but earning a podium finish.

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST SEPT. 15-16 OF 42ND WOODBRIDGE CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ASICS AMERICA