Harvard cross country All-Americans Graham Blanks and Acer Iverson, who took the top two spots at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships as well as the NCAA Division 1 Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, join DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss their preparation for competing Nov. 19 at the NCAA Championships at the Greiner Family Course at Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Blanks finished 23rd last year at the national final at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., with Matthew Pereira taking 35th and Iverson placing 40th to give Harvard three All-Americans, which contributed to a 12th-place performance overall. Harvard is making its 12th appearance at the Division 1 championship meet in program history, including 2019 in Terre Haute, Ind., along with last season. Iverson examines how important the consistency is for Harvard in building tradition and Blanks explains how proud he was of how the group rebounded from a runner-up finish Oct. 28 behind Princeton at the conference final to secure second place behind Syracuse at the Northeast Regional and earn an automatic berth to nationals. Both athletes analyze how significant it was to become the first teammates to take the top two spots at the Heps championship meet in 53 years and then lead a quartet of Ivy League competitors sweeping the top four places at the regional, including Tyler Berg of Cornell and Perry Mackinnon of Columbia. They reflect on competing Sept. 24 at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater and how valuable the opportunity was to gain a better understanding and respect for the Greiner Family course ahead of the national meet, as well as revisiting their efforts Oct. 14 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and how they fared in the biggest national meet of the regular season. Both individuals express gratitude for the leadership and guidance and mentorship of Harvard coach Alex Gibby and speak about the balance of the challenging academic schedule, along with training and competition, as well as rest, recovery and nutrition, and how instrumental all the aspects are in their individual and team success. They also praise Heps and Northeast regional women's winner and Harvard teammate Maia Ramsden for her success and analyze her potential to become an All-American in Stillwater.