FORT DODGE — Move over Quentin Nauman.

The Western Dubuque graduate and Iowa cross country and track and field sensation saw his 5-kilometer state cross country meet record of 14:48.5 fall just one year after he set it.

Marshalltown senior Preston Johnson is the new 5k king in Iowa after he won the Class 4A race at the state cross country meet in 14 minutes, 40.2 seconds on Oct. 31.

"A half mile in, we were going for it," Johnson said. "I was like alright, here we go! Let's go really fast."

Johnson needed the fast start to give him the confidence he could not beat standout competition like Iowa City Liberty's Keegan Decker, Johnston's Jake Crossland and Sioux City North's Kuma Gutema, and also break Nauman's mark.

Decker placed third in each of the previous two state meets. Gutema and Crossland were ranked first and second in the Iowa Association of Track Coaches individual 4A boys rankings going into the meet.

Any of those runners was capable of challenging Nauman's old mark, with Gutema running the state's all-time 5k mark at 14:30.84 in September. But Johnson was the one who pulled it off.

"The state of Iowa's just got such great competition," Johnson said. "I'm so lucky to be able to have that at every meet; it's really awesome."

Decker placed second in 14:53.1 and Crossland also broke 15 minutes with a third-place time of 14:55.5. Gutema placed fourth in 15:03.4.

Johnson is going to take his running talents to Division I Syracuse. But before he heads out east, he plans on grabbing a big meal to celebrate his record victory.

"I'm going to get some chicken and rice from a Mexican restaurant," Johnson said. "That's my go-to after a race."

Dowling Catholic won the team championship with 70 points. The Maroons placed four runners in the top 20, with Charlie Deick placing 10th, William Tice 17th, Theo Tollakson 18th and Elias Stein 20th.

Cedar Falls placed second with 93 points and Liberty was third with 94.

Charlee Gall gets her gold in 4A girls race

Charlee Gall got some redemption during the 4A girls race at the state cross country meet.

Gall came close to a state title as a freshman in 2024 when she placed third, finishing 13 seconds behind winner Piper Messlery of Dallas Center-Grimes. But last year she slipped down to 10th place, coming 26 seconds out of first despite improving her time by three seconds.

This year she ran a smart race and finished strong to pull off her first individual state cross country title.

Gall started the race as part of the lead pack. Then Pleasant Valley's Maddie Millage got a good kick and separated herself from the rest of the pack.

But heading into the second mile, Gall started to make her move. She caught up to Millage, as did Waukee Northwest's Emmy Stubbendeck.

Then she moved in front and held her ground. Gall completed the 5k course in 17:13.0 to beat Millage by 17 seconds for the title.

"It worked out really well," Gall said. "I was trying to stick with the top few girls — they're great competitors. Then just kick going up the hill and stay on it. It was good."

Gall's winning time was a full 55 seconds faster than her previous-best state mark. She said she benefited from the stiff competition.

"It was good to learn how to pack run," Gall said. "It felt pretty good."

Stubbendeck placed third in 17:33.6, Pleasant Valley's Gianna McCombs was fourth in 17:46.7 and Davenport Central's Presley Moeller came in fifth at 17:52.6.

Gall's individual performance had a big impact on the team race, pushing Cedar Falls to a win with 96 points.

The Tigers won the team title by five points, and only nine points separated Cedar Falls from fourth place in an extremely tight team race. Ankeny Centennial took second with 101 points, Northwest was third with 102 and Pleasant Valley fourth with 103.