Nothing New, Except the Trophy
Johnson and team bring home the gold
By: Claire Schultz and Lauryn VanDiest
The Doniphan-Trumbull boys’ cross-country team made school history this season, winning its first-ever state championship after years of hard work. Led by junior runner Kaser Johnson, the team turned a sixth-place ranking into a gold-medal finish, proving that hard work and dedication truly do pay off.
“The feeling of grabbing the state plaque is a feeling I will never forget. It was so nice to know that all of my hard work paid off”, says Junior Kaser Johnson.
Johnson, one of the team’s more decorated runners, has been running since he was 7 years old. Competitive running is something he is very passionate about and strives to be successful in. In the offseason, Johnson pushes himself to his full potential. He runs countless miles, trains with a running trainer, and runs NXR, a regional cross-country meet for fast runners in South Dakota. The first race Kaser ever ran was the Race for Grace with his mom when he was 7 years old.
“I have been running with my mom since I was a kid, and that really inspired me to join cross country. Since then, it has been one of my favorite things,” said Johnson.
Along with Johnson’s success, he won all but one of his 9 races this year; the team has also been bringing home the hardware. Over the course of the cross-country season, the team has won 6 of its 8 meets.
“It feels great to be on a successful team, and it's very rewarding. We do a lot of training in the off-season, and to do well, it just feels great,” said Johnson.
Throughout the summer, the team members track the number of miles they run to be able to travel to Boulder, Colorado. This annual team camp offers the team different, beautiful courses and more challenging workouts, along with the opportunity to bond as a team. During the season, they turn their workouts up a notch, focusing on hard workouts, including running up hills, fast-paced track workouts, and long-distance runs.
Head coach Mr. Corey Hatt states, “We push ourselves to the maximum, and always keep our goals out in front of us and always try to reach those every single day.”
Having this type of mindset has helped the team reach those goals they set at the start of the season, and this year, it helped them secure the gold.
The coaches are critical to the team's success. They push every runner every single day. Not only do the coaches play a role in supporting the cross country team, but so do the members themselves.
“Cross country is not only an individual sport, but a team sport. The team aspect has been a lot of fun, and we really enjoy it,” senior Rylan Soundy states. “We have a very different dynamic than a lot of teams I have been on. We are very close. We do a lot of things together. It’s a tight-knit group.”
This team proves that hard work truly does pay off. Going into the state meet, the team was the underdog. They referred to themselves as hidden in plain sight; they entered the race ranked 6th, but at the state meet, the boys' moment finally came. All the hard work and grit led them to the finish line as state champions. Together, the team made history for Donipham- Trumbull Cross Country. They brought home the school’s very first state Cross Country individual and team championship, built around an unbreakable team bond and a desire for success.
Hatt says, “They are gold, all they do is gold, all they touch is gold, they are just golden.”