From a Brentwood Bruin to a Belmont Bruin...
Kevin Vanderkolk is the first 2021 commitment in Tennessee.
The Brentwood High School senior has already had a monster year.
He's raced four times in 2020 and he's broken 16 minutes with every race, including a huge career-best of 15:06 a few weeks ago at The Southern Showcase.
Next year, he'll be taking his talents up the road to Belmont University.
"I chose Belmont because it was the perfect fit for me," Vanderkolk said when we chatted with him this past weekend.
"I can study music and run at a competitive level."
Vanderkolk felt at home with the coaching staff, telling us that Coach Jeff Langdon "was one of the first coaches to contact him," helping him really feel at home with the Bruins program.
In the end, being close to home made a big difference as well.
(Week Five: Brentwood cracks the top ten in our TN XC Team Rankings)
"Part of the reason I chose Belmont was because it's so close to home," he added. "My favorite part about the campus is that it's located right in the middle of Nashville."
Vanderkolk plans to major in music business and music production.
And Belmont is home to a great place to do that right here in the Music City.
After finishing his season in-state with a 14th place finish at State in 2019, Vanderkolk is off to a terrific start this year as he looks to secure an even higher all-state spot in 2020.
He says his goal is to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals this fall.
Vanderkolk's Brentwood squad is ranked in the top five of our most recent TN Milesplit Ten rankings and will have a shot to finish on the podium in Division One Large Schools.
They've got a solid group of veteran runners, led by the future Belmont Bruin.
