Mia Cochran, an Arkansas-bound senior at Moon Area High in Pennsylvania and a two-time Class AAA state cross country winner along with the reigning Class AAA champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss her commitment to attend college in Fayetteville and how she has recovered from a recent iron deficiency scare to return to full strength in time for the postseason. Cochran, who boasts a 4:45.07 mile and 10:17.84 effort in the 3,200 meters on the track, revisits a chaotic first half of the season that included official visits to Arkansas and North Carolina State, along with racing Sept. 24 at the Desert Twilight Festival in Arizona, in addition to Oct. 2 at the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina. She explains how the fatigue she felt following a sixth-place finish on the 5-kilometer layout at WakeMed Soccer Complex led Cochran and her coaches and family to have her get blood work done early the following week, which revealed her low iron. Cochran shares that she has since had a pair of iron transfusions, which have helped her regain energy and endurance in time to race district and state competition, the latter scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Hershey Parkview Course, where she will attempt to become the first female athlete representing the WPIAL to capture three consecutive Class AAA state titles. Cochran reflects on running 17:11.8 on the 5-kilometer layout at Desert Twilight to place seventh in the sweepstakes race at The Links Golf Course in San Tan Valley, Ariz., and how much motivation that created for her to achieve a sub-17 performance this season. She also reminisces about qualifying for the Foot Locker Championships, now Eastbay Cross Country Championships, in 2019, despite competing with a stress fracture in her hip, which forced her to withdraw from racing in the final in San Diego, Calif. Cochran expresses her motivation to return Nov. 27 to Van Cortlandt Park in New York for the Northeast Regional and place among the top eight to advance to the Dec. 11 national final at Balboa Park's Morley Field. She also shares how significant the opportunities for national competition have been during the past year, with Cochran achieving top 10 finishes at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies in Terre Haute, Ind., along with the adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia, as well as the The Outdoor Nationals, presented by Nike, at Hayward Field in Eugene. Cochran placed third in the mile July 3 in Oregon, which followed her 3,200 PR in June in Illinois.