Tree Beats Olympians, Potential Spot on National Team

Author: Hugh Mullally

Kevin Tree keeps on raising the bar for Lakehead Running, as he and Dylan Brown both competed Saturday at the National Cross-Country Championships, a 10km race held in Vancouver.

Results List

Video Interview with Tree (via Trackie.ca)

Tree, of Tottenham Ontario, ran 32:44 and placed a remarkable 7th place among his peers in the senior men category, which includes the best runners of all ages in Canada, a considerable leg up from the university-aged competition he’s used to. To add more credence to Tree’s accomplishment, he beat out 2 Canadian Olympians on Saturday.

“I couldn’t be happier right now,” said Tree. “Coming out here it was certainly the goal to get on that National team, but today’s a bit of a surprise for sure. I’ve never been on any international team before, so it’s pretty exciting.”

Meanwhile Thunderwolf Dylan Brown, who was an All-Canadian at the CIS Championships earlier in November, placed 27th in a time of 33:50.

The implications for Kevin Tree could mean a place on the Canadian National team. The current selection criteria states that the top 6 finishers at the Senior National Championships earn places on Canada’s National team to compete at the World Championships. This race is slated for March 28, 2015 in Guiyang, China.

The team will also compete at the North American Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) championships in Trinidad in early March.

Amidst rumors that one of the top six finishers from Saturday’s race has chosen to forfeit his place on the team, Tree is next in line to suit up for Canada’s cross country running team at World’s and NACAC in March.

Coach Kip Sigsworth:

“It’s an incredible accomplishment for Kevin, and if the rumors are true about the national team selection, he will be taking his running career to a new level at the World’s in March, a bigger stage than any Lakehead runner in history.”