Two roads, same journey

When Catie Schuetzle landed in Spokane 15 years ago, she hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped since.

Now she is the dominant name in the Shadle Park track and field record book and one of two Highlanders’ seniors who should be among the stars of the Eastern 4A regional at University High this weekend.

Schuetzle and Bryan Braman, with the help of teammates, are trying to qualify for the State 4A track meet in four events. There is no reason to believe they won’t succeed.

But other than the fact both long jump and run a relay, there aren’t many similarities between the two stars other than that they didn’t come from traditional families.

Mark and Jenny Schuetzle adopted Catie when she was 3. Tina Braman Fields, who still holds track records at Rogers, raised Bryan without his father in the picture.

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After having one son, Ty, of their own, Mark and Jenny Schuetzle couldn’t have any more children and started adopting.

First came Jay, out of Korea, but when they wanted a third child, Korean adoptions were closed. The Schuetzles basically sent out an APB for a child of any age, sex or race and they were quickly united with an infant in Louisville, Ky.

Though not related by blood, Catie – “she’s much more of a Catie than a Catherine,” her mother said – followed in the footsteps of her athletic brothers.

“Her body is made for athletics and her personality is made for athletics,” Jenny said. “She’s happy when she’s competing.”

The Schuetzles discovered Catie’s talent early.

“We wanted her to sleep at night – we wanted to sleep at night,” Jenny explained. “She was one of those kids who was literally bouncing off walls. We tried lots of different things: ballet, dance, gymnastics, soccer – which she was a disaster at. It worked.”

In grade school, Catie wanted to run with the track team before she was old enough and, eventually, the coach consented – if she could keep up.

“Not only did she keep up, she just cleaned everybody up,” her mom said. “Then she got into volleyball and basketball. She just stood out, she just jumped higher and ran faster.”

Breaking into a brilliant smile, Catie explained, “I was really competitive. I wanted to be the best. I had way too much energy. I’m ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).”

Her success made it easy for people to pair her with Caucasian parents.

“I don’t care to notice the looks. I haven’t taken time to notice,” she said, almost defiantly. “None of us notice. We’re not different.”

Three years after getting Catie, the Schuetzles found out she had a little brother. When Bo became available, they quickly scooped him up.

“We just said, ‘Please don’t let this one be hyperactive,’ ” Jenny said, laughing.

Bo, now an eighth grader, is just as athletic as the rest of the family – well most of it.

“Go figure,” Jenny said. “My husband and I aren’t athletic.”

By the time Catie got to Shadle, she was well-known to Highlanders track coach Ivan Corley, whose job it was to make her run faster and jump farther.

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Bryan Braman was born in Hillyard but was rarely in one residence long.

“We haven’t been the richest family, so we moved around,” he said.

Sports was consistent in his life.

“I noticed Bryan had potential when he was about 4,” Tina said, “Circumstances beyond our control would put us in different houses, but being in sports gave Bryan a sense of security.”

Until moving to Cheney when Bryan was in the eighth grade, the Bramans lived on the north side and Bryan played most sports, especially soccer – “until he found out he could play tackle football,” according to his mom – through Spokane Youth Sports Association.

It helped him keep his mind off his family situation.

“His dad has been in his life on and off, more off than on,” Tina said. “His dad’s family has been in his life. He’s had a lot of things instilled in his life by his dad, it’s just that his dad hasn’t been in his life.”

Bryan said, “There are quite a few times we wouldn’t hear from each other (for a long time). Then again, it’s up to him make to take the initiative to make contact with me. Now that I’m older we’re able to see each other and talk a little bit … because I can take the initiative.”

When Braman arrived at Shadle as a freshman, he was unknown and had never participated in track. It didn’t take Corley, then the freshman basketball coach, long to see some potential. It was just a matter of finding the right place for him.

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The large schools on the east side of the state aren’t particularly kind to underclassmen in track.

Youngsters in the Greater Spokane League do just fine during the regular season and the better ones can make regionals. But mix the GSL’s best with the Big Nine Conference elite and precious few advance to state.

Corley knew Schuetzle was a sprinter and jumper. She was locked into the long jump and triple jump and made regionals as a freshman and sophomore, but her races depended on the makeup of the team for possible relays. However, last spring the Highlanders were rebuilding and Schuetzle’s postseason included the 100 and 200 meters and the jumps.

She ended up with three medals, just missing on the finals in the 200, and was the surprise state champion in the long jump when she added almost 18 inches to her personal best.

As a senior, she was an all-league volleyball player but gave up basketball to prepare for track after she earned a scholarship to Washington State.

Schuetzle has school records in the 100 (12.0 seconds), 200 (25.1), long jump (19 feet, 2½ inches) and triple jump (38-1¼). This spring she has dropped the 200 in favor of the 1,600 relay.

Meanwhile, Braman was always casting around for the right combination of events.

“What I remember of him as a freshman is a kid interested in all events,” Corley said. “That’s not a bad thing – you want a freshman to try different things, but he’d look at the high jump and 10 minutes later he would be at another event. I thought it was nice he was going around, but I was thinking he needed to slow down and stay at one event longer.”

Though he thought he was fast, Braman got “smoked” as a freshman. He gravitated to the high jump and long jump and placed in the all-city junior varsity meet.

The next year he took up the javelin and dropped the long jump.

“One day I went over to the javelin and said, ‘Hey, I can throw this thing,’ ” Braman said.

Corley’s take was a little different.

“Jumpers have to do sprint workouts,” he said. “I think Bryan picked up the javelin and that allowed him to get out of the workouts.”

Thanks to becoming a weight-room fanatic, Braman blossomed as a junior, placing second in state in the high jump and sixth in the javelin but out of the medals on the 400 relay. He followed that up with a solid football season that earned him a scholarship to Idaho.

This year he has returned to the long jump (22-9½) and is the second leg of a good 400 relay (42.6) to go with State 4A leading marks in the high jump (6-8) and javelin (198-8).

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Schuetzle’s competitiveness is obvious. Though she is quick to smile, there is a fire in her eyes on game day.

At the district meet, when a rival set a PR in the long jump that was a fraction past Schuetzle’s season best, Schuetzle responded by a foot improvement and district record simply because she didn’t want to lose.

Braman’s demeanor is completely different as he bounces from event to event, chatting up rivals and pumping up teammates.

“I like to have a lot of fun,” he said. “Everybody takes these meets too seriously. My determination to win this year is a lot better than last year and my concentration level is a lot higher, but I still want to come out and have fun.”

Braman’s biggest obstacle is academics, but he is confident he is going to make it.

“His grandfather told him he needed his education to get through life to become what he wanted to become,” Tina said. “Bryan and his grandfather were two peas in a pod. If you were looking at Bryan, you were looking at my father. We lost my father to cancer, we thought we were going to lose Bryan. Bryan really struggled to find himself (as a sophomore).

“(Now) he has his grandfather on his shoulder telling him if he puts his mind to it he can do it. We got him back. He’s going to be OK, he’s going to make it.”

In many ways, he already has. And so has Catie Schuetzle.