Katy-Ann McDonald, a Georgetown graduate student-athlete representing England who qualified for NCAA Division 1 finals in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track at LSU and earned All-America honors in the 800 meters for the Tigers, joined DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss the preparation for her debut Oct. 29 at the Big East Championships at the Coogan Cross Country course in Massachusetts, looking to contribute to the Hoyas capturing a third consecutive women's team title. McDonald is one of five graduate student-athletes on the Georgetown roster, along with Andrea Claeson from Sweden and American competitors Sami Corman, Grace Jensen and Alex Stout. She expresses gratitude for coaches Mitchell Baker and Kyle Levermore and their abilities to mesh the group together, despite different backgrounds, helping Georgetown develop into one of the elite teams in the country entering the postseason. McDonald reflects on her first experiences competing Sept. 30 at the Paul Short Run in Pennsylvania, with the Hoyas placing second, along with Oct. 14 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, where Georgetown took 10th. She explains how significant it is to be part of a team contending for a conference title and berth at the Division 1 championship meet this fall, instead of qualifying individually, which she did at LSU last season, placing 163rd at the NCAA final at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. McDonald shares how meaningful her time was at LSU and how valuable it was to communicate with sports psychologist Bruce Buggs to help her handle race anxiety. She revisits the disappointment of not being to compete at the 2020 Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, N.M., because of the cancellation of the event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with LSU being the favorite to capture the women's team title. McDonald also reminisces about running 2:00.98 in 800 and 4:13.07 in the 1,500 to win both events in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific in California. She also speaks about her summer internship as a writer at the Austin American Statesman in Texas and how much she enjoys living, training and attending school in Washington D.C.