FORT DODGE — It was Logan Bleich and Jacob Tallman's time to shine.

The two Gilbert seniors had spent the previous three years running behind an elite trio —current Oregon runner Quentin Nauman, current Tulsa runner Canaan Dunham of Pella and Des Moines Christian great Caleb Ten Pas. But in 2026, they had their time to shine at the Iowa high school state cross country meet.

After placing eighth, fifth and fourth individually the previous three years, Bleich brought home his first individual state title. Tallman, who finished ninth, fifth and fourth in his previous state outings, took second.

More importantly, the duo helped Gilbert win its fourth-consecutive 3A team championship.

"It's super special, and it's really special when you actually have a bond with your teammates," Bleich said. "I could've come out here with my worst enemy and done the same thing and I would've hated it. Training with Jacob every single day, and training with this team really put into perspective I am to even be out here in the first place, and how amazing it is to win with somebody, and not just win by yourself."

Bleich and Tallman jumped out to a huge early lead. They stayed in control the whole race, beating the rest of the field by 35 seconds.

Bleich was out in front from the start, and he gradually stretched out his lead, crossing the finish line of the 5-kilometer race as a state champion with a time of 15 minutes, 12.2 seconds.

Even though he is all about the team, Bleich admitted it was nice to finally come out on top individually after running behind such a standout group of runners over the past three years.

"I think it's really, really, really, really cool," Bleich said. "I know I said really about six times, but I think I've worked over six years for this goal. This was the type of thing where you wake up every morning, look at your wall and say 'That's what I want to do.' I've circled this since the beginning, and I think today was the day to come out and officially put that goal to the test and see what I can do."

Bleich's time beat his previous best state-meet mark of 15:31.9 run last year. He became Gilbert's second individual champion ever after Thomas Pollard in 2014.

Tallman's runner-up time was 15:21.9. That was 35.5 seconds faster than the third-place time run by Mason City's Henry Hansen, and it beat his previous-best state mark of 15:30.4 set when he was a sophomore in 2024.

As well as he ran, Tallman — like Bleich — was more thrilled with the team earning its fourth team title in a row. The Tigers replaced four runners from last year's team that won state by 30 points with a score of 71, and also recorded a record-low score of 33 points in earning the 2024 title.

But they built enough depth behind their standout top two to build another team champion. The Tigers scored 98 points on Oct. 31 to take first by 16 points over Sioux Center.

"Every year is a different team, and this team, honestly, is one of the most special ones to me," Tallman said. "We have so many seniors that are my best friends. So special."

Sophomore Zach Stevermer looks to be the next great runner for Gilbert. He was outstanding on Oct. 31, placing fifth individually in 16:01.1. Another Tiger sophomore, Kiernan Ryan, placed 48th in 16:57.1, and senior Sam Kuennen also scored points for the team after taking 74th in 17:18.7.

Evelyn Moeller, Pella shine in 3A girls competition

Shorter hair was a good luck charm for Mount Vernon-Lisbon's Evelyn Moeller, and Pella continues to rule the team competition in the Class 3A girls field on Oct. 31 at the state cross country meet.

Moeller, an Iowa State commit, used a strong middle mile to separate herself from the rest of the 3A field to claim her first state championship. She placed 39th as a freshman, moved up to 10th as a sophomore and then took third as a junior before running the third-fastest 3A time in state history as a senior.

"It was a pretty fast course; I feel like the wind wasn't too bad today, and it's definitely the warmest it's ever been during my state career," Moeller said. "It was awesome."

Moeller completed the 5k course in 17:07.5. That only trails the two fastest times of all time, the 16:30.9 run by Pella graduate Marissa Ferebee in 2024 and the 16:48.58 effort by Ballard graduate Payton Noe in 2022.

Moeller took charge of the race in the middle mile. She began to separate herself from MOC-Floyd Valley's Natalie Anderson, Center Point-Urbana's Aaliyah Causey, Glenwood's Grace Bergland, Sioux Center's Audrina Jones and a talented pair of Pella runners in Elise Brenneman and Maechen Cowman.

"Honestly, I didn't get out that fast," Moeller said. "I was like, 'Well, it wasn't as fast as it could have been.' I said I've got to keep it at least as fast, or faster, so staying consistent was the difference maker."

Moeller ran a 5:26.7 in her first mile, then cut that to 5:24.1 in the second before coasting home to victory. She celebrated with fans and her family after the race - with all of her family members wearing a golden ponytail to honor her old hairstyle.

"First I saw my mom have it, and I was like 'What in the heck is she wearing?'" Moeller said. "Then, as I kept on running, I was like 'Oh my gosh, they all have it on!'"

Brenneman took second in 17:38.6, her fastest time ever at state, topping the 17:58 she ran two years ago when she also got second behind Ferebee. Brenneman helped Pella cruise to its fifth-consecutive 3A state title with 34 points.

That is Pella's second-lowest point total during their five-year reign behind the 23-point effort the Dutch had in 2024.

Maechen placed fourth behind Moeller, Brenneman and Anderson with a time of 18:00.3. Ruth Dunham gave Pella a fourth top-10 runner by running 18:26.8 to place 10th.

Des Moines Christian was a distant second behind Pella in the team standings with 127 points. Elyse Erzen paced the Lions with a ninth-place time of 18:24.8.