usually as per the instructions you linked: if you already use openwrt should select sysupgrade option. as you did not specified which binary you tried , i see you might used "kernel.bin" which is for when you replace the factory firmware to openwrt.
also, it looks you are on ancient v17 and want to do a major release upgrade. the bigger the leap it is less likely you can make a direct jump, there is a chance you might need to upgrade to intermediate version between 17 and 22. and sometimes it is required to restore factory image then do fresh owrt install instead of upgrade.
and, usually in case of major upgrades it is recommended to backup current config then do clean upgrade instead of keeping settings.
i am not familiar with your device so not sure whether you need revert to factory then change to owrt, or you can upgrade from 17 to 22, or upgrade first to some intermediate versions first but i'd rather pick the latest supported version v24 instead of the also out dated v22.
It's not clear what you're attempting to accomplish, or what you mean by "customize my device without having to wait for the release of the OpenWRT web selector".
I.g. in case, you are SHURE, your unsupported device can run a specific supported firmware image, AND sysupgrade does not work (i.e. error: wrong device type), often there is the possibility, to use the boot loaders functionality to flash any firmware image.
I.e. actually I am playing around with a HC540-H, which is an out-door router, but based on a supported WE826. The org (custom) firmware on the HC540 is based on openwrt, but refused to sysupgrade an image for the WE826.
I used the U-Boot web based flashing procedure, to flash a WE826 image. Worked.
In case, you have ssh access into your device, you can force sysupgrade to do the upgrade, using sysupgrade option "-F". Easier compared to U-Boot, but a bit risky, as well. You need to be SHURE, that the new image is suitable.
There are 4 pins in the top right corner. Unless they are clearly marked, use a multimeter to figure out which one is V, G, RX and TX, and which voltage they are running at.
(I didn't quote the other user to suggest you try "anything" like flashing another firmware. I quoted to make note that sysupgrades generally work for the devices in question.)