Katie Thronson, a graduate student-athlete at Notre Dame and the inaugural recipient of the Gatorade Play it Forward Alumni Award which included a $20,000 grant to Active4Youth in Spokane, Wash., joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss her recent transfer from Tennessee and having the opportunity to pursue a Masters degree in non-profit administration in South Bend, Ind., while completing her remaining seasons of cross country and track eligibility with the Irish. Thronson, 23, reflects on veteran Tennessee coach Beth Alford-Sullivan leaving the program in May before the NCAA Division 1 East Regionals, and the emotional challenges of preparing to race in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Bloomington, Ind. She examines the coaching carousel that has brought Sean Carlson from Notre Dame to Tennessee to coach the cross country team, along with Alford-Sullivan securing a new job at Connecticut. Katie also explains how her departure from Tennessee resulted in her missing an opportunity to be teammates with younger sister Audrey Thronson for her final year of collegiate competition. She revisits the connection formed with current Notre Dame assistant Baylee Mires in 2017 when Thronson, then a senior at Lewis and Clark High in Washington, traveled to California to compete at the Foot Locker West Regionals (now Eastbay West Regionals) at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. Mires, competing professionally in Washington, was a chaperone for the athletes competing at the regional. Thronson shares how she was contacted by Mires when she entered the transfer portal and how it has been a blessing to reconnect following her decision to attend Notre Dame, in addition to collaborating with head coach Matt Sparks. She analyzes the returning talent from Notre Dame's lineup that placed fifth at the NCAA Division 1 cross country final in November in Tallahassee, Fla., and how she hopes to support Maddy Denner, Olivia Markezich, Erin Strzelecki and Katie Rose Blachowicz, along with elevating the incoming freshmen, in an attempt to help Notre Dame secure a podium finish Nov. 19 at the Division 1 championship meet in Stillwater, Okla. Thronson also speaks about how the Gatorade grant has helped impact Active4Youth, where she started her running career in Washington, and how it will allow for the local youth cross country meet in Spokane to be held again following financial challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with her experience in July at the ESPYs.