DES MOINES — Talk about a tough act to follow.
Moments after Western Dubuque junior Quentin Nauman ran the first sub-4-minute mile in Iowa high school history, Marshalltown’s John Moellers and Preston Johnson took their turns circling the blue oval four times.
Both Bobcats set their personal records — and Moellers broke the school record — but it couldn’t possibly match the spectacle they’d just witnessed.
Moellers, a senior, scored 12th place in the Class 4A 1,600-meter run and Johnson, a sophomore, finished 20th on Saturday at the Iowa Co-Ed State Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Dowling Catholic senior Owen Wolfe won the event in a time of 4 minutes, 9.21 seconds — the third-fastest time in Iowa this spring — and somehow it felt slow after seeing Nauman set the track and field community ablaze.
The entire stadium, which seats 14,557, was on its feet. Fans, athletes, competitors, workers and all; even Moellers and Johnson were clapping while they waited their turn to run the same race.
“It was insane,” Moellers said of Nauman’s time of 3:59.60. “I was still locked in, and honestly it was a little motivational, but that’s just … yeah.
“Our races felt so quiet compared to that sub-4.”
Moellers broke a 48-year-old Marshalltown High School record with his 4:15.30, just slipping in under Jamie Hutcheson’s time of 4:15.7. Stephen Dak won the 1,600-meter state titles in 2006 and 2007 with respective times of 4:17.92 and 4:16.92, but Moellers moved the needle with his final prep performance.
“When I PR’ed last Thursday (at districts) and I got second, I felt like that was a pretty good PR,” Moellers said. “But then you come here, you PR by like four seconds, and then you’re actually in 12th place. Somehow that’s how it works, but yeah it’s pretty weird.”
Moellers qualified for state with a time of 4:19.59 and chopped more than four seconds off that with Saturday’s state meet, but the talented 4A field performed like it. Ethan Zuber of Ankeny, who finished ahead of Moellers in the state-qualifying meet at Leonard Cole Field on May 15, was second (4:12.59), while Owen Marett of Des Moines Roosevelt, who edged Moellers in Thursday’s 3,200 race by six-tenths of a second, took third (4:12.92).
Moellers was one-hundredth of a second behind Elias Arbuckle of Dallas Center-Grimes for 11th place and four-hundredths behind Slader Buckheister of Cedar Rapids Kennedy for 10th.
What a race!
“I was just sticking with the lead pack as much as I could,” said Moellers. “I was chasing the record, yeah. That was one of the main goals, but at the same time I just wanted to perform the best I could.
“I’d say 30 percent was my race, running my thing, but 70 percent was just seeing how long I could stick with the big guys. I felt I should have done better, but I’m OK with what I got. It was my third mile of the year, so I didn’t have as much experience as with the two-mile, but it was still good.”
Johnson, who placed 10th in the 3,200 on Thursday, continued his recovery from walking pneumonia and came away with his personal-best time by a sliver. Johnson qualified for state at-large with a time of 4:21.60, and on Saturday he clocked in at 4:21.57 — three-hundredths of a second faster than ever before.
“I just kind of felt a little restricted in breathing, but I’m definitely happy with this weekend,” he said. “You know, it’s not what I hoped for, but I didn’t really lose anything. By staying where I was at I showed I can do it even when I’m not 100 percent.”
Johnson got jostled a bit at the start of the race, fell behind the pace early, and couldn’t make a comeback. His first lap was his fastest of the four.
“The start was definitely a bit rough,” Johnson said. “I’m not used to a big race like that, but I mean the whole pack was fast.
“I had some people in mind (to run with), but after the start I knew that all plans were off.”
Johnson finished third out of four runners who were sophomores or younger, which makes him eager for the future.
“It’s just kind of easy to find yourself in the lower end of that pack with so many people fighting for positions,” he said. “That was my first big mile race in a field like that, so a good experience.”
Johnson won’t have Moellers to train with for his final two years of high school, but he will have his times to chase.
