The decision wasn’t an easy one, but Salisbury senior diver Tyler Keller knows he made the right choice.

After three standout seasons on the diving board, and one more to come in the upcoming months, Keller now knows where he’ll be diving at the college level. The Falcon senior recently committed to Lehigh University to continue his diving career at the Division I level.

“The recruiting process was very long and strenuous, but throughout the entire process I knew I would be happy with whatever college I selected,” Keller said. “I am extremely excited I decided to choose Lehigh. It’s hard to imagine out of all the places I have traveled to, I decided to choose the college right next door. The campus made me feel away from home, but still the option to get home easily in case of emergencies, which takes the stress of going far away off my shoulders.”

Plenty of Division I programs had their eyes set on Keller and his abilities off the diving board. He visited a number of schools, including Bucknell University, the University of Buffalo, Towson University, George Washington University and Lehigh.

After some thought and weighing each school’s pros and cons, Keller found his answer.

“My final decision came down to two schools, between George Washington University in DC and Lehigh,” said Keller, who committed on November 13. “Being located in DC, George Washington is such a great location for internships and exposure for jobs, however the cost of living is wickedly high.”

Besides the athletics aspect of the school, Keller was drawn to Lehigh for its rich tradition of engineering programs. He plans to major in biomedical engineering and later attend graduate school, so choosing Lehigh was an obvious choice.

“Another aspect that stuck out above other schools is the academics at Lehigh,” Keller said. “Lehigh has a world-renowned engineering program, which is great to graduate from a school with a name behind it. Also, they gave me the best package, which showed how badly they wanted me there.”

Of course, diving played a part in it, too. Lehigh went 5-5 during the 2015-16 season and finished 3-2 in the competitive Patriot League under head coach Rob Herb. Keller will likely join current sophomore Croldy Veliz in brown and white next year to help the Mountain Hawks reach new heights.

Keller enjoyed the camaraderie he felt among not just the Lehigh diving unit, but the entire swimming team. It’s a feeling he didn’t experience during any of his other college visits.

“The team at Lehigh was the coolest out of all my trips,” Keller said. “Some schools would exclude the divers from the swimmers, but at Lehigh they were included in everything like one big family. The team did everything together from just hanging out at night to going out to eat every day.

“What really stuck out from Lehigh in comparison to other schools is how much the dive team seemed to want me there. They kept in contact with me the entire summer leading up to the trip unlike any other team.”

Keller placed seventh among all Class 2A divers at last year’s state championships. He took gold at the District 11 meet prior to that memorable state run a year ago.

Keller is also an All-Colonial League goal keeper in soccer and a league medalist in pole vault.