University of Alabama women's cross country assistant coach and professional athlete Samantha Palmer joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss the Crimson Tide having three All-Americans, including individual champion Mercy Chelangat, and placing eighth as a team March 15 in Stillwater, Okla., in the first women's appearance for the program at the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships in 26 years. It marked the first time since Arkansas in 1999 that a women's team had two athletes place in the top three. It also marked the first time since Villanova in 1992-93 that the same women's team produced the individual champion, along with another top-three finisher. And it marked only the second time in Alabama women's cross country history that the team finished in the top 10, joining a sixth-place performance in 1987. Palmer reflects on the team racing cross country for the first time since the Southeastern Conference final Oct. 30, and how Alabama has improved from finishing ninth at the conference championship meet in 2018 to runner-up in 2020, and eighth at the national final by building a significant running culture. She revisits the conversations among fellow coaches Dan Waters and her husband Will Palmer that led to Chelangat only racing indoor track through the SEC final, and not pursuing the 3,000 or 5,000 at the NCAA Division 1 indoor Championships on March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. Palmer examines the improvement of sophomore Amaris Tyynismaa from finishing 26th at the SEC cross country final in the fall to placing third at the Division 1 championship meet in Stillwater. She also analyzes her growth on the track, including a pair of 4:31 anchor legs on the Crimson Tide distance medley relays, including to win the conference title Feb. 25. Palmer also speaks about Tyynismaa and Jami Reed emotionally regrouping after the DMR was disqualified March 12 at the Division 1 indoor final, in order to race at the cross country championship meet. She explains her own decisions not to race March 20 at the USATF 15-Kilometer Championships in Jacksonville, following an exhausting week of travel and coaching, and shares experiences from a third-place finish Feb. 28 at the Publix Half Marathon at the Atlanta Speedway, along with revealing her next half marathon race April 24 in Nebraska.