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“Winning state is pretty much mandatory for me,� Brust said.

The senior at Cascades Academy — a K-12 private school in Tumalo with roughly 250 students — has worked too hard during the past year to put himself into position to win multiple events at the 1A Special District 2 district meet, with the potential to be the school’s track team’s — which has 12 athletes — first ever state champion.

“He’s been committed the whole year to this,� said Cascades Academy’s coach John Jesser. “He’s just going for a championship.�

Prioritizing track has become common practice for Brust the past year. When track went from something to do to his focus.

When he was on a family vacation in Hawaii last March, he wasn’t on island time. There was little chance to sleep in. He was up early making sure that he got in his running workouts.

“I had to get all my training done in the morning,� Brust said. “It made me really tired for the rest of the day, so I didn’t do as much body-boarding.�

But those runs around the island paid off. Brust earned a third-place finish in the 400-meter at the 1A state championships at Hayward Field, and set himself on the path to a potential state title and continuing track post-high school.

“The atmosphere is totally different level of seriousness than the local meets we have here,� Brust said.

“I think that really helped me this year with concentrating on my goals. After the season ended, I started training and that continued through the fall, winter and spring.�

In his senior year, Brust hasn’t slowed down.

In the district meet, Brust has top marks in multiple events. His time of 23.46 seconds at the April 13 La Pine Invitational is the fastest in the 200-meter race. His time of 51.75 seconds in the 400 is also the fastest time at districts. And his times in the 100 and 800 are within striking distance of the district’s top times.

Brust has his eye on the 400-meter — the same event he finished third at state last year, and the one he perhaps has the best chance of winning at Hayward Field this spring.

Winning that race will be no easy feat. Brust will have to beat a guy who just crossed the finish line before him in the 400 a year ago. St. Paul’s Ralph Pohlschneider finished the 400 at Hayward in 52.25, while Brust finished in 52.67.

This year, Pohlschneider and Brust appear to be on track for another photo finish in a couple of weeks. Both are the only two 1A runners to do the 400 in under 52 seconds — Pohlschneider (51.47) Brust (51.75) — thus far this season.

“I’m always looking at his meet schedule to see when he is running and what he is running,� Brust said. “Just trying to educate myself.�

For a school without a state champion, having an athlete break the seal would help put the Cascades Academy program on the map.

“Winning a state title is a tough thing to do,� Jesser said. “It would show that we are serious, and that we come out here and work hard.�