Alex Brown looks to trim times and increase distance like any other track and field athlete.

Only this Cranberry Township resident and North Catholic junior does so from a different perspective — in a wheelchair.

Brown suffered a spinal stroke when he was 4 years old. He’s been competing in track and field since fourth grade. This is his third season as a member of North Catholic’s team. And while that team supports him, he wants the state of Pennsylvania to do the same.

Last year, Brown filed a lawsuit against the PIAA, looking to get equal opportunity for wheelchair and para-ambulatory athletes to qualify for and compete in the PIAA Track and Field Championships.

As a result, now he can.

“This is the first year I can compete at the district (WPIAL) and state meets,” Brown said at the recent Butler County Track and Field Classic. “I’m excited about it ... but I’m not doing this for me.”

He’s doing it for future wheelchair athletes, wanting to give them an end-goal, another reason to get on the track and compete in athletics.

Right now, in that regard, Alex Brown is all alone.

“To my knowledge, I’m the only wheelchair athlete in Pennsylvania competing for his or her high school,” he said. “That needs to change. No matter who you are, if you want to compete, there should be an avenue to do so.”

Before this year, Pennsylvania did not accommodate wheelchair athletes at the high school level. Nearly 30 other states had already been doing that.

During the previous two Butler County Classics, Brown competed in the 100 and 200 meters, along with the shot put, for the Trojans. But on the track, he did so alone. He wheeled down the track in a separate heat with no runners on the track with him.

He wanted to change that this year. He requested the chance to compete alongside runners in 100 and 200-meter heats. Event officials gave him lanes 5 and 6 to do so, as his wheelchair needed a little more room.

Brown finished the 100 in 23.63 seconds, just under 10 seconds after the final runner’s time in the preliminaries. He completed the 200 in 50.53 seconds and his shot put toss was 9 feet, 9.75 inches.

Like every other athlete, he has marks he wants to hit.

“I want to get down to 43 seconds in the 200, 21 seconds in the 100 and repeat my personal-best of 12-2 in the shot put,” he said.

The reason he’s not looking to top his previous-best in the shot put? He’s required to throw a 4-kilo shot put this season after throwing a 3-kilo last season.

“If I can get back to 12-2, I’ll be happy,” Brown said.

If there’s any kid who should be satisfied with what he’s doing for athletics in this state, it’s him.

When Brown is on the track, he’s focused, determined ... The grimace on his face speaks volumes in that regard.

So, too, does the broad smile on his face when he’s on the sidelines, just soaking in the atmosphere, offering a friendly hello to coaches and athletes on other teams as they wander by.

Alex Brown is all about athletics.

He’s also all about acceptance, equality and doing his part in improving the future for other potential athletes in life situations similar to his own.

What Alex takes away from sports in terms of himself may not seem like much.

What this kid is giving to sports down the road is immeasurable.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Cranberry Eagle