DES MOINES — Preston Johnson put in the work to try and make Thursday his day.

Now his sights are set on May 21.

The Marshalltown High School junior was back on the Blue Oval for the 3,200-meter run at the Drake Relays on Thursday night, where Western Dubuque phenom Quentin Nauman claimed his second-straight event title. Nauman, an Oregon recruit, finished in 8 minutes, 57.64 seconds to bring in the white Drake Relays champion flag, while Johnson logged his second consecutive top-10 finish in the race.

Johnson posted a time of 9:16.3, finishing in ninth place at the end of the eight-lap run, as the lead pack escaped him over the final 450 meters.

A group of six runners started to separate themselves just before the bell lap, highlighted by Nauman’s trademark kick to claim the Drake Relays crown by nearly three seconds. Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Slader Buckheister was second in 9:00.34, moving up from 11th place a year ago and 13th as a sophomore.

As the lead pack pulled away from Johnson over the final lap, he was caught from behind by a pair of runners over the final 200 meters and settled with ninth place. Johnson was eighth a year ago in 9:09.37.

“I wanted to go for the win, just putting myself in a position where if it’s the right day, I could go out there and give it a shot,” Johnson said. “But, you know, it wasn’t that day.”

Johnson qualified for the Drake Relays by meeting the Blue Oval Standard with his winning time of 9:08.2 at the Cedar Falls Co-Ed meet on April 9, but the pace of Thursday’s race pulled him too fast to keep enough gas in the tank for the final circuit.

“With 400 to go, Quentin’s thing is he gets in that second position and just flies by everyone,” Johnson said. “We were kind of hoping we could not be in that first position when that happens, but it’s a good learning experience.”

Johnson settled into a pace with the rest of the field over the first six laps, running somewhere between 1:08.17 and 1:11.61 with each oval. He said he was comfortable running at the center of the herd, cruising in seventh place for a lot of the race.

He pushed out from the center of the swarm on the fourth lap, moving up to fifth place for a few strides before making the midway point in sixth. Johnson couldn’t move any farther inside for nearly the next three laps, however, and it all caught up to him by the end.

“I had to run most of the race in lane two and a little bit on the side of (lane) three, but it is what it is,” he said. “It was a tactical race and it’s good learning how to run some of those tactical races. That’s where Quentin thrives, but I’m looking forward to more tactical races in the future and being prepared for anything.”

Behind Buckheister, a University of Iowa recruit, was Pella senior Canaan Dunham — a four-time Drake Relays qualifier in the 3,200 — in third (9:01.06). The Tulsa commit has finished 21st, third, second and now third again in four trips to Des Moines for America’s Athletic Classic.”

Iowa City Liberty junior Keegan Decker, who entered with the top qualifying time of 8:59.49 (indoor), ran 9:01.66 for fourth, while Bettendorf’s AJ Willey, a Northern Iowa prospect, placed fifth (9:03.26). Gilbert junior Logan Bleich led for a lap and finished sixth (9:07.05).

Johnston junior Jack Crossland (9:14.38) and Indianola senior Kiefer Barnes (9:14.89), a DePaul recruit, both caught Johnson over the final 200 meters to place seventh and eighth, respectively.

Johnson quickly turned his focus toward the state meet, which is May 21-23 back inside Drake Stadium.

“Onto state,” he said. “It’s not what I wanted from today, but it was a good learning experience.”

Each of the 21 runners in the field were state cross country qualifiers, too, including Class 2A champion Emerson Vokes of Grundy Center, who placed 11th, and 3A champion Nauman. Johnson was the runner-up to Jaden Merrick of Cedar Falls in 4A, but Merrick has forgone his final high school season of eligibility after committing to Iowa State.

Thursday’s 3,200 was an all-star race, as is Saturday’s Elite High School Mile. Johnson is entered as one of 13 competitors in the boys’ race, where he’ll be reunited with Decker, Willey, Dunham, Bleich and, of course, Nauman.

Four runners come in from outside the state, too. Stanford recruit Sean Fries of Minnetonka, Minn., Elliot Batz of Rock Island, Ill., and two runners from Park Hill South in Riverside, Mo. — Thomas Garrett (Drake) and Simon Ketter (Rockhurst) — join in with the best Iowa has to offer for four laps around the Blue Oval.

The Elite Mile is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on Saturday.

“I can’t wait,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying to go get a good PR (personal record). The mile’s never really been my strong suit, but I had some promising times in the indoor season, so I’m hoping to replicate that a little bit and go from there.”