First, congratulations to Ariel.
There has been Kenyan, Eritrean, Lithuanian... finalists before, but has there ever been another Canadian? I don't think so (I can't think of any).
This leads to another topic. It would be great if they could add Canada as another "region" for the footlocker finals. Making it a true North American event and even more competitive then it already is.
I think that this would add life to Foot Locker Nationals (after 32 years) and differentiate it even more from NXN. The top US runners may decide to do Foot Locker instead of NXN because it will be seen as the more competitive (more prestigious) of the 2 events.
Foot Locker has over 80 retail outlets across Canada, so I think it would make sense for them from a marketing point of view.
The Canada Foot Locker "regional final" could be coupled with the Canadian XC National (a subset of the kids running the Junior race would be eligible to qualify - they could make the race 6K, instead of 8K for the boys).
It would increase the profile of Canadian Nationals since Athletics Canada would have a co-marketing partner in Foot Locker. Perhaps even more participants would make it to nationals as a result and certainly coverage would increase. Foot Locker would also gain greater visibility since Athletics Canada would also be involved in the promotion.
All and all, I think it makes sense and would be pretty exciting for the Canadian kids to shoot for a participation to FLN.