2024 Fall Preps Preview: Mt. Spokane senior cross country runner Kade Brownell pushing himself, teammates to next level

Kade Brownell is poised to have his best cross country season ever.

The Mt. Spokane senior will have two months to watch it play out. He was clearly the best runner in the Greater Spokane League last fall and he’s likely to repeat that this year.

Fourth at the State 3A meet last year, Brownell is aiming much higher this season. To get where he wants to go he’ll have to knock off the defending champ and runner-up.

“I want to win state,” Brownell said. “I’m going to have to have a really good race. I don’t think I can win if I have a bad race.”

Count Mt. Spokane coach Scott Daratha, a longtime coach in the area, as a believer in Brownell.

“He just has to believe he can run with them,” Daratha said of Brownell’s potential to contend for a state title. “He can run with anybody in the country. He’s a 4:10 miler and a nine-minute 2-miler. There aren’t too many people around doing much better than that.”

Brownell is coming off his most challenging summer of training. Not so much for the number of miles run, but the quality.

“I focused my training regime on running up elevation,” Brownell said. “I’m way better because I’m running farther with way more ease. I really pushed myself.”

It helps that the second-best runner in the GSL is a teammate – Parker Westermann, also a senior. They will battle all fall.

“He’s only going to improve more this fall,” Westermann said of Brownell. “I think I’ve closed the gap. It’s been my best year of training.”

The Mt. Spokane duo will be chased by a handful of quality runners.

“They both could be in the top five at state,” Cheney coach Derek Slaughter said.

Lewis and Clark coach Michael Lee has much respect for Brownell.

“He’s just one of those classic GSL ultra-talented runners that we’ve had over the years,” Lee said. “He’s as good as any of them.”

Brownell and Westermann are courting recruiters. Both went on a weekend visit recently to Gonzaga. Missouri, Washington State and Arizona are in Brownell’s top four.

Brownell is chasing Mt. Spokane’s school record set by one of the top runners to come out of Spokane, John Dressel. He went on to run at Colorado.

Brownell will have to crack 15 minutes to have a shot.

“He’ll definitely be a better runner this year,” Daratha said. “The school record is right there in his reach.”

Brownell wants to pursue a career in law enforcement. His father is a detective in the Spokane Police Department. First he wants to get a degree in accounting.

“My dad said a degree in accounting will take me further in law enforcement,” said Brownell, who carries a 3.94 grade-point average.

Brownell hopes to bump his GPA to 4.0 with some advance placement classes this year.

Brownell said defending GSL champ Lewis and Clark and Cheney are the favorites to win the league title.

The league schedule is set up perfectly. The league title will be decided in the final race when LC, Cheney and Mt. Spokane face off at Manito Park.

LC and Cheney both return their teams intact. But Brownell isn’t conceding anything.

“We have the ability to win state,” Brownell said. “It’s whether the individuals on our team decide to push themselves to the next level and become uncomfortable while running.”