"The fact that he's sitting in that chair, doing what he's doing, is a miracle in itself," said Joe Brenchley, Brian's father. "As far as we were told, he was going to be nothing and do nothing, so the fact that he is who he is, is amazing."

As a student at Weber State University, where he met Sorenson, Brenchley went to every dance and was never afraid to ask a girl out, even when it meant his friends would go without dates. He served as a section leader and sang his heart out as a tenor for the choir at the school's LDS Institute of Religion. He took just about every course offered at the institute and currently volunteers at Ogden's Treehouse Museum.

In addition to girls, Brenchley enjoys music and video games and uses his fingers to communicate, slowly typing words into a small computer that speaks for him.

"He's done a lot of things and met a lot of people," Joe Brenchley said of his son. Vickie Brenchley has been Brian's companion through it all, earning her a spot as a valuable resource for other mothers with disabled children.

"Brian might do things differently than others, but he does more than most able-bodied people do, because he goes out and does everything he wants," Sorenson said. "It's just a matter of how bad he wants it."

Team Brenchley is working on raising money to make necessary modifications to the racing chair and purchase other implements they'll need for future competitions. The pair hopes to someday establish the Brenchley Foundation, making it possible for others with disabilities to accomplish their dreams.

"We just have to do everything we know we can do when we know we can do it," Sorenson said.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com