Angelina Ellis, a Butler University graduate and first-year professional athlete representing Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky Distance, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss making her road mile debut April 23 at the USATF 1 Mile Championships as part of the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines, Iowa, in addition to competing April 26 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 114th Drake Relays Presented by Xtream and Powered by Mediacom at Jim Duncan Track at Drake Stadium. Ellis, a two-time NCAA Division 1 championship meet qualifier in the 3,000 steeplechase for Butler, reflects on improving her personal-best effort from 9:44.57 to 9:30.71 on April 11 at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University in California. She shares her excitement for competing in the road mile, especially after clocking a lifetime-best 4:30.62 in an indoor mile race Jan. 27 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University, and also shares her gratitude for having the opportunity to compete in the steeplechase at the Blue Oval at America's Athletic Classic. Ellis, 25, explains how instrumental Butler head coach Matt Roe was in helping her improve in the steeplechase during her collegiate career, with her having only previously competed in the hurdles in sixth grade. She shares how beneficial it is to train with elite international steeplechase competitors Regan Yee from Canada and Adva Cohen of Israel in the Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky Distance group, and how much she has already learned from them. Ellis also highlights how inspiring it is to have female athletes like Sharon Lokedi, Weini Kelati, Susan Ejore, Katie Snowden, Alycia Cridebring, Rebecca Bassett, Cohen and Yee in her group, following her being part of the deepest women's steeplechase class in collegiate history. She analyzes the transition from living in Indiana to moving to Flagstaff and training at elevation, and how necessary it was for Ellis to make significant strides during her professional career. Ellis also speaks about how she has evolved and improved technically in the steeplechase, and how much she is looking forward to the competition at the Drake Relays in her pursuit of chasing the Olympic standard of 9:23.0. She also discusses how beneficial it has been to compete twice at the NCAA Division 1 final, along with racing last year at the USATF Outdoor Championships and again in February at the USATF Indoor final in the 3,000, in an effort to gain more experience ahead of the U.S. Olympic Trials in June at Hayward Field in Oregon.