Ellie McCuskey-Hay, a sophomore at St. Ignatius High in California and the returning state runner-up in the 100-meter dash and sixth-place finisher in the long jump as a freshman, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss competing March 29-30 in three events at the Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track and Angell Field in Palo Alto. McCuskey-Hay boasts personal-best efforts of a wind-legal 11.52 in the 100-meter dash, a wind-aided 24.62 in the 200 meters and a wind-legal 19-7.25 (5.97m) in the long jump. She has already produced marks of 11.62, 24.72 and 19 feet (5.79m) in March. McCuskey-Hay speaks about the challenge of replacing two members of the 4x100-meter relay quartet from last year's lineup that achieved a program record by clocking 47.99, and how she and fellow veteran Sophia Boudraa are trying to establish chemistry with Avery Hui-Bytof and Chloe Brooks early this season, in addition to how encouraged McCuskey-Hay was about the group clocking 48.62 on March 16 at the St. Francis Invitational. She explains how much enjoyment there is in competing on the biggest stage at significant invitational meets like Stanford and Arcadia, along with the postseason schedule, and how valuable the experiences were for McCuskey-Hay competing as a freshman at the state championship meet at Buchanan High's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis last year. McCuskey-Hay examines how meaningful it has been to be coached with the Marin Waves by her father David Hay, as well as gaining insight and perspective from the coaching staff at St. Ignatius, and how that wisdom and experience has helped her with preparation for races and meets. She relfects on how important it was to take a break to allow her body to recover and her mind to reset after competing for nearly six months last year, culminating with multiple medals in the 15-16 division in July at the USATF Junior Olympic Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. McCuskey-Hay shares how optimistic she is about the improvement of the start of her races after placing emphasis on running the 60-meter dash in January and February, and how she hopes that translates to better times in the postseason in the 100 and 200 in May and throughout the summer. She also highlights how much her improved speed has benefited her approach on the runway and the confidence it has given McCuskey-Hay that she can surpass the 20-foot barrier in the long jump this year. Although McCuskey-Hay won't be competing in the heptathlon April 5-6 at the Arcadia Invitational, she is excited about returning to the multis this summer after accumulating 4,356 points to place second in July in the 15-16 division at the USATF Junior Olympic Championships in Oregon.