For much of the past year, Sean Keane has been running against NCAA competition at indoor track meets throughout Canada and the U.S.

And while most of the runners lining up next to Keane wear singlets displaying their university affiliation 鈥� from the University of Washington to Portland State to Air Force 鈥� the South 性视界传媒 teen鈥檚 name has always been listed on the official start list next to one word: unattached.

That鈥檚 because Keane is still a high school senior at White Rock Christian Academy, and also runs without affiliation at the club level, too. But his unattached status changed last Friday, when he officially signed his name to a scholarship deal from the University of Kentucky.

鈥淵ou see the guys with their (NCAA) jerseys on鈥� it can be pretty intimidating,鈥� Keane said. 鈥淚t feels really good to be part of it now.鈥�

The Peninsula native, who came to WRCA from Holy Cross Regional School after his Grade 10 year, weighed offers from a handful of schools south of the border before choosing Kentucky, where he plans on studying kinesiology.

On the track, he鈥檒l run the 800 and 1,500-metres.

鈥淚t was a tough choice, but in the end it just came down to coaching and what was the right fit,鈥� Keane said, just moments after putting pen to paper on his scholarship in the WRCA athletics team room.

鈥淭he coaching fits me perfectly, the school fits perfectly and academically it鈥檚 sound. The campus is really nice and is right downtown (in Lexington), so it鈥檚 a little larger than White Rock, but it鈥檚 perfect for me.鈥�

And though he鈥檒l only be a freshman next season, there鈥檚 every reason to believe he鈥檒l make a big impact at the NCAA level. Keane finished first in the 800-m 鈥� clocking a personal best time of 1:51.91 鈥� in a field full of NCAA runners at last month鈥檚 Husky Classic at the University of Washington. In the indoor 800-m, he is currently the second-ranked junior runner in both Canada and North America, one spot back of another 性视界传媒 runner, Keffri Neal.

Keane is also the defending B.C. High School champion in the 1,500-m and this year will also try to add the 800-m title to his resume. He ran a personal best in the 800 during a preliminary heat at last year鈥檚 provincials, but dropped out of the final because it was scheduled for just an hour after the 1,500-m.

鈥淪cheduling is so tight at provincials that it makes it tough 鈥� I didn鈥檛 have much time to recover 鈥� but I鈥檓 going to try and go for the double this year, and go out with a bang,鈥� he said.

As both a defending champion in the 1,500 and as one of the top-ranked runners on the continent, Keane expects to run at provincials against a very motivated field eager to topple him, but isn鈥檛 worried about any extra pressure his profile may bring.

鈥淭here might be a bit more pressure, but it鈥檚 all the same when you start racing.鈥�