Air Academy senior Ethan Powell always wanted to be a state champion in cross country. So, on a part-term basis, he joined the last boys’ cross country team in town that won a title: Palmer Ridge.

Powell, Class 4A’s 24th-fastest runner in 2015, has emerged as a state contender this fall. And on Thursday, the surging senior won his second meet of the season with a wire-to-wire win at the Air Academy Kadet Invitational in 16 minutes, 56 seconds.

After his run, he couldn’t help but give a shoutout to his crosstown rival.

“I got to give it to Palmer Ridge, man. They are an amazing program and helped me a lot,” Powell said, before remembering his loyalties.

“And once you start beating them – my heart goes out to them, but that’s how it’s going to be.”

Powell said his surprising climb up to becoming one of the state’s premier runners began when he trained with the Bears twice a week from the middle of last January to the middle of February.

He believes it is a big reason why he surprised many during the spring track season and took third at the 4A state meet in the 1,600. And why he hopes he can win gold at the 4A state cross country meet in another month.

So, what was the big secret from the 2014 cross country champs?

Mileage, he said. Put in a lot of miles.

“(Palmer Ridge) would go out for an easy day and that’s eight to 10 miles,” Powell said. “It always seemed to me that it was the intensity workouts that would make the difference, but seeing with them it’s just the mileage they put in.

“This summer I ran 450 miles after running just 50 or 60 the summer before my junior year. It’s made a huge difference.”

No kidding.

Powell, who didn’t have the opportunity to face Palmer Ridge’s varsity team Thursday, won the 4A-5A boys’ race by eight seconds.

Freshman teammate Tatum Miller followed it with a win in the girls’ race by 24 seconds in 19:25.

“Last year I was leading a lot of middle school meets by a similar distance,” said Miller, who took the lead with Air Academy’s top runner Maria Mettler out sick. “I was pretty comfortable with it.”

Air Academy won the boys’ 4A-5A race with 27 points and the girls’ race with 29 points. No other team was within 40 points of either of them.