DES MOINES — Marshalltown senior John Moellers took down an 18-year-old school record on Thursday at the Drake Relays.

With his sixth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run, Moellers bested Stephen Dak’s school record time with his final clocking of 9 minute, 5.66 seconds — beating Dak’s mark of 9:07.34 by nearly two seconds.

MHS sophomore Preston Johnson finished in eighth in 9:09.17, moving into third all-time in Bobcat history.

Longtime Bobcat track fans may remember Dak for the immense legacy he left behind at Marshalltown, boasting five state championships on the cross country course and on the track.

Dak won the 2005 and 2006 state cross country championship for Marshalltown in 15:32 and 15:05 respectively. On the track, Dak was the 2006 and 2007 1,600-meter state champion with times of 4:17.92 and 4:16.92. Dak’s historic 9:07.34 that Moellers just took down was set en route to the 3,200 title in 2007.

Before last Thursday, Dak held school records in the 1,600, 3,200 and 5,000. The trifecta of distance records held strong for nearly two decades before Moellers topped one of them.

The pair are in almost a tie for the 1,600 with Moellers barely having the quicker time of 4:27.33 to Johnson’s 4:27.43. Both records remain more distant for the dynamic duo who have helped revitalize distance running at MHS.

With a few weeks left in Moellers’ career at Marshalltown and Johnson’s remaining two years, the record board may be subject to more change, only time will tell.