Orange you glad you picked Syracuse?

Marshalltown senior cross country champion Preston Johnson commits to Orangemen

Preston Johnson has had the type of senior season that only exists in dreams.

It's only halfway over.

The Marshalltown High School senior signed on the dotted line Wednesday during National Signing Day, committing to run cross country at Syracuse University next year.

A week and a half after running the fastest time in Iowa High School State Cross Country Championship history, Johnson penned another chapter in his storybook senior season.

"This year's like doing everything that I couldn't in the years leading up to it," he said. "This week it's being able to go to Nike Cross Nationals -- the big goal. It's been a dream since my freshman year. So being able to do that, being a state champion -- just doing everything I couldn't in my first three years (of high school) -- it's kind of closing all those loops that have always been dreams."

Johnson announced his verbal commitment to Syracuse on Sept. 23 through his social media accounts, picking the Orangemen over dozens of interested suitors. He made three official visits and had two more scheduled after his trip to upstate New York, but his experience there was all he needed to see.

"When I went on my visit in September, everything felt really great," Johnson said. "I love the guys, the coaches -- everything felt perfect, so I knew it was the right decision from the start.

"It's really special and I can't wait for the future."

Johnson was thrilled and relieved to have made his decision midway through his senior season as it helped him to focus solely on his goal of a state cross country title.

And then, on Halloween in Fort Dodge, he dropped the state meet record time of 14 minutes, 40.2 seconds, to smash the previous mark by eight seconds and win the Bobcats' first state title since 2006.

"It definitely relieved a lot of that stress that comes with the decision," Johnson said of selecting Syracuse in September. "It's definitely a process that costs you a lot of emotion, anxiety, stress, all those kinds of things. Going on visits is meeting 20 new people and trying to make a good first impression to all of them at a place that could be your future home. That was definitely a process that takes a lot out of you for sure, so it was great to be finished with it."

The 13th-ranked Syracuse men's cross country squad has won three of its five invitationals this season, and the NCAA Northeast Regional is Friday, Nov. 13, in Bethpage, N.Y. The Orangemen finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference the same weekend Johnson was claiming his state title.

Johnson said Syracuse was as much of a fit academically as he believes it will be for him athletically.

"Health and exercise science is the major, and Syracuse is the second-best in the country for that, so I'm really looking forward to that," he said. "I think the biggest thing was finding a group of people that I fit in with and also having coaches that are great -- clicking on both of those things -- but the academic was also a really big thing, finding a program that matches my needs for the future as well."