Kaser Johnson, grit and gold

Contributor: Alex Madsen, Falls City Sacred Heart

A lanky figure cuts through the frigid winter front like a dagger. The December winds almost drown out the constant pounding of his shoes slapping against the concrete.  If the 20-mile-per-hour wind and freezing temperatures weren’t already enough of a challenge, the teenager doesn't start his nightly run until after his basketball practice ends. The bitter cold doesn't seem to bother him. Kaser Johnson is focused on adding to his winter's 300-mile bank to bolster his mission to bring Burke glory home to Doniphan-Trumbull. A high finish in this May's Class C distance events would be a perfect book-end to the Class D cross country title he won in October.

Kaser grew up in an athletic family. His mother didn't run much in high school but took up marathons in her adulthood. He recalls feeling a deep sense of pride and motivation seeing his mother take on the prestigious Chicago and Boston Marathons.

Despite his recent excellence in the Nebraska running scene, Kaser hasn't neglected his other passions. He recalls participating in nearly every sports activity possible while growing up. In fact, basketball was his main sport until high school. That changed once cross country proved its worth to him by teaching a deep lesson in hard work, perseverance, and dedication.

Kaser tore his ACL just as he was beginning his freshman cross country season. He could have taken time off and recovered, but something inside of him told him to keep running. Despite his injury he finished second at Districts in just his second meet of the season, leaving the gritty freshman phenomenon excited to compete at State. “I just wanted to go out there and perform,” Kaser said. “Placing sixth at State surprised me."

Kaser at the 3000-meter mark of the 2023 Class D State meet

His two accomplishments - a high placement as a freshman and running through extreme pain - unlocked something inside Kaser. He became fixated on unlocking his full potential in the sport of running.

“I was hurt for a lot of my freshman cross country season. I recovered, made State and performed well. That was when I decided to start taking training more seriously. I liked the feeling of winning,” he said. “Once I started training more, I knew the wins would start coming in regularly. That’s when I decided that running was my sport.”

After skipping his freshman basketball season to recover from the ACL surgery, Kaser was eager to compete on the track. He was determined to bring back the same fire he had during cross country season.

“I pushed really hard at the start,” he said. “Too hard. I suffered a stress fracture in my foot.” Kaser only competed in four meets before his track season was cut short due to the injury. He missed the last four weeks of his freshman track season and his recovery extended through a significant portion of summer cross country conditioning.

Kaser learned from his mistake of overexerting while coming back from an injury. Despite his success as a freshman, he went through periods of anxiety and uncertainty. Fortunately, his focus on staying healthy paid off, and Kaser finished in the top three in every race his sophomore cross country season. At Kearney, he brought home his second career State medal after his blazing 16:25 - a 51-second improvement from the prior year - earned him bronze.

Kaser battles Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian in the 2024 Class D meet

Despite his grand performance at State, Kaser was still unsatisfied when spring rolled around. He now had confidence that he could compete at his highest level without the lingering fear of injury. He excelled in the 1600m and 3200m, never finishing lower than third in the meets leading up to State. Kaser qualified for State after winning both events at Districts. He ran a 19-second PR in the State 3200, and his 9:51 earned him fourth place in a loaded Class C distance field. While he missed a medal in the 1600 by one spot, his 4:29 was a 12-second PR.

Kaser en route to a 4th-place finish in the 2025 Class C 3200

In just two years, Kaser's three State medals made him feel like he had accomplished nearly everything. Well, everything outside a state title. Heading into his junior year, Kaser could almost taste the gold. He met Doniphan-Trumbull's goal of at least 300 summer miles. In fact, he ran more than 400 miles over the summer of 2025.

“Coach Corey Hatt is super including. Everyone has a spot on the team,” Kaser said. “He pushes me over the summer and in season. We talk over goals and where I want to be as a runner.”

During the fall, he would discover that the 400 summer miles were definitely worth it. Following a runner-up finish to Eli Goodell of Perkins County in the season opener, Johnson didn't lose another race over the next eight weeks. He won the Platte River Rumble small division title over a huge field, and a few weeks later won the prestigious UNK Class D race. His winning streak was nearly matched by his team's; the Cardinals won six of their eight meets leading up to State.

Kaser clinches the 2025 Platte River Rumble small division title

Neither Johnson nor Doniphan-Trumbull was favored at State. Kaser had been ranked 2nd all season behind Eli Goodell, and they had not raced each other since the first meet of the season. Kaser and Eli did not face off as expected at the UNK meet because Goodell opted into the Class A field, a race he won which he won by 22 seconds. Despite being the underdog, Kaser decided that anything less than gold was unsatisfactory. Kaser and Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian took the early lead at 1000 meters, and the slow-starting Eli was with them at the halfway mark. Kaser and Eli broke away at 3000 meters but the race wasn't decided until the final 400 meters, when Kaser turned a five-meter advantage into an 18-second margin. After 15 minutes and 42 seconds of effort, Kaser had clinched the Class C State title. His time was the third-fastest mark of the day behind two Lincoln Pius athletes who two weeks later would later lead their team to a Nike Cross Nationals berth.

Kaser leads Eli Goodell with 400 meters remaining in the 2025 Class D State meet.

“Winning felt great. All the hard work paid off tenfold,” he said. “I can’t thank my parents, coaches and teammates enough for helping me achieve this.”

Kaser credits his teammates and coaches for always pushing him to be his best inside and outside of practice. Johnson especially credits upperclassman friends and teammates Tice Yost and Jacob Zakrzewski. Speaking of his team, the Cardinals were ranked fifth in the final coaches poll before finishing a surprising second at State, earning a spot on the awards podium. All three scorers - Kaser, Carter Hannon and Bladen Rainforth - return next fall.

“It’s a lot of fun to be part of a team where everyone is friends,” Johnson said. “It makes it more exciting and enjoyable to practice. It just makes running so much better.”

Johnson has his sights set high for the track season. He will once again compete in a generationally talented Class C field of long-distance runners. He also never forgot his first love of basketball. Kaser still plays basketball for Doniphan-Trumbull despite being one of Nebraska’s most decorated young distance runners.

“No matter what, basketball will always be there,” Johnson said. “I love basketball and everything that comes with it.”

He'll start the search for a college home this year. “It’s always been my dream to compete at the collegiate level in any sport,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to see more of the world and meet new people.”  He doesn’t have a school in mind yet, but he knows that he is looking for a place with pretty scenery, good people and some good running trails.

Johnson describes his hometown, family, friends, and school simply. “Once we have a goal, we are all committed to it. We work together to reach it,” Johnson said. “It’s not just a school thing; it’s a community thing. We all work together to reach our goals.”

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First published at www.preprunningnerd.com by Alex Madsen on March 17, 2026. Alex is a senior distance runner at Falls City Sacred Heart High School. If you find an error, shoot us an e-mail at jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll get it fixed.

Like this coverage of the Nebraska T&F and cross country scene? There's more of this at www.preprunningnerd.com. Check out the Blog tab for our frequent stories and the Results tab for every Nebraska high school meet we can find. If you want to see meet photos or just need to kill a few hours on social media, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PrepRunningNerd or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/preprunningnerd.

Finally, if you think runners, jumpers and throwers are the best things on earth, you'll enjoy our two most popular articles. In 2018 we published "The Runner with the Broken Heart" about a high school boy who finished last in nearly every race he ran. In 2022 we published, "The Fall and Rise of Emmett ," a story about a high school triple jumper who became a quadrapalegic after a swimming accident.