Western Dubuque’s Quentin Nauman races his way into the Drake record book

DES MOINES — As a future University of Oregon athlete, Quentin Nauman will run at a legendary venue.

He already has made his mark at this one. And he’s nowhere near finished.

A junior at Western Dubuque, Nauman set a Drake Relays record in the boys’ 3,200-meter run Thursday afternoon, jetting away from the field with 400 meters to go and blazing to a time of 8:52.45.

“I work up this morning, and I thought, ‘Oh, gosh, my legs feel great,” Nauman said. “To do this at a place like Drake Stadium, to check this off my list ... it’s awesome.”

The old Drake record (8:55.14) was set last year by Cedar Falls’ Jaden Merrick.

Also a junior, Merrick set the pace for the majority of the race, with Ankeny’s Ethan Zuber a stride behind.

Nauman settled into the fourth spot, and stayed there until it was time to attack when the bell rang to signal the final lap.

“I was going to go (on the backstretch), but my legs felt so good, I took off,” Nauman said. “These guys are some of the best competitors. I’m humbled to part of this distance crew.”

Nauman ran the final lap in 55.7 seconds to lead a field that sent three runners under 9 minutes (Canaan Dunham of Pella was the runner-up in 8:56.11) and nine under 9:10.

He ranks No. 3 all-time in Iowa.

In a little more than a year, Nauman will head to the Pacific Northwest to run at the same place — Hayward Field — that Steve Prefontaine became a legend.

“It’s definitely a dream come true to run at a program that big,” Nauman said. “It’s really cool.

“I love this place too.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com