He did so in near-record time -posting the second-fastest time in OFSAA history and the fastest 1,500m time of the season anywhere in North America.

Immediately the wheels were put in motion to have Rae included in Thursday night's Festival of Excellence event on the same vibrant blue Varsity Stadium track he won gold on last week.

Dave Reid, himself a former top Canadian runner, knew Rae was trying to break the four-minute mile barrier and wanted him to do it on Canadian soil.

Only three high school athletes before Rae have broken what Reid calls "the magical barrier."

"It has been around forever. You talk to people who don't know much about the sport, but they want to know, have you ever run the Boston Marathon and can you run a four-minute mile? It's one of those things that has that mystique," he said.

Rae was certainly the underdog in Thursday's one-mile race against numerous Olympians and other top senior runners, and he'll likely be in the same position in two weeks when he competes in his first Canadian track and field championships back at Varsity Stadium.

It will be the first time the junior-aged athlete is competing in a full national track meet against senior men.

He finished the race with a time of four minutes, 6.44 seconds.

"I don't expect to do well, but that's just for experience," Rae said.

That underdog status will drop like a rock, though, in July when he competes in the Canadian junior championships in Prince Edward Island.

A top two finish there would qualify him for the junior Pan American Games in Trinidad in August.

And that, says Rae, is his first major goal beyond what he has already done.

"It would be my first time representing Canada on the international stage. That was one of my life goals and to be able to do it in high school, it would be amazing," he said.

Young has nothing but confidence his athlete can not only get to the Pan Am games, but be competitive there.

"We planned all this two years ago. If you look at the charts, he has met all his targets we've set each year," said Young, an accountant by trade whose coaching is largely based on numbers, timing and equations.

Calling himself an architect, Young said Rae had all the blueprints of a top-level athlete.

"He has the complete package. He has a very good support group. That's the first thing. The parents are really zoned in. And his head is zoned in on it. He's very committed to it. That triangle is very important," said Young.

"Now, we can plan and set targets. You don't know if you have the talent until you start into things. I started doing recovery tests with him and I realized he recovered very quickly and he was ready for the next level much faster than the other kids ... From there it was just working the program," he said.

Rae's program will take him to the University of Notre Dame in the fall, where he will compete for the Irish on a track scholarship.

"I'm definitely excited for that. I just can't wait to train with a whole bunch of guys ... it's a whole different atmosphere," Rae said.

Just like when he started high school, Rae will suddenly go from being the top dog in Ontario high school track to being the newcomer in NCAA running.

But he's willing to bide his time. "A lot of people get injured because

they want to be the best the first year there. I have to realize it's a four-year process. Just like in high school it was a four-year process. It takes a while to learn the ropes," he said.

If Rae can learn the ropes as fast as he can run a mile, it shouldn't be that long of a process.