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Bobcats committed to bowling’s emergence

When Joshua Arment walks through the doors of Totem Bowl on any given weekday morning, his Eggo is still warm while his spirits still frozen by the bitter Iowa winter he’s forged through to get to the bowling alley.

His story isn’t that much different of any teenager, waiting until the last minute to get up and make it to any of his 6 a.m. practices for the Marshalltown High School boys’ bowling team.

The Marshalltown boys’ bowling team was represented by four different schools from the surrounding area for most of the 2016-17 season. Kamrin Chizek lives in Marshalltown, but goes to school at GMG. For Zachariah Liskowiak, he too lives in town, but attends East Marshall.

And some junior varsity bowlers, such as Orlando Kapayou and Seth Keahna, go to Meskwaki Settlement School, but still bowl for the Bobcats because of the lack of programs at their respective schools. It’s certainly not uncommon for schools to combine, but for the Bobcats, practice is demanding at the highest level, and can be challenging to a high school scholar.

Often the question hasn’t been so much as ‘how’ are the Bobcats continuing to be a dominant force in the Class 3A bowling world, but rather ‘why.’

Why would a group of high schoolers willing wake up at 5:30 a.m. every morning during the coldest months of the year, to go bowling? While many see the sport as a leisurely activity, the Marshalltown bowling teams have continuously proven their dedication to perfection.

“Honestly, it’s kind of an honor being on a varsity team and being able to go to Marshalltown,” Chizek said. “I’ve had a lot of fun and it’s been definitely worth it every 6 a.m. practice, every 4 p.m. practice.”

The Bobcats are coming off three consecutive state tournament appearances, including a 2015 state title. Last year’s shortcoming has only provided more motivation for the Bobcats to return to Plaza Lanes seeking redemption.

Marshalltown will once again be a heavy favorite for the 3A crown. The Bobcats are coming off their second-highest performance at the district meet — 3,429 pins — and average the second-best 3A match score average of 3,079 pins (Hempstead first with 3,096).

“Two years ago when I first got the packet at the first meeting, that said,’ We’re going to have practice almost every weekday, at 6 in the morning,’ you think to yourself, ‘Well that’s a little bit early. How’s that going to do anything?'” Arment said. “But that’s the advantage we have of coming here an hour or two before school starts, and then come back later.”

Most of the reason the Bobcats practice so early in the morning is because of the bar attached to Totem Bowl. If the bar’s open, the Bobcats can’t practice.

“I don’t know if other schools are as strict of that, but we will be,” said MHS head coach Roger Taylor Sr. said. “I can control what we do. Some of the other schools have asked me what our practice routines are, and I’ve told them 6 a.m. And they say there’s no way in the world they can get up for 6 a.m. practices. That’s one of the reasons we’ve gone to state so many times.”

The passion for bowing is becoming less unique and more of an expectation throughout Marshalltown High School and surrounding communities. More fans are showing up at regular-season bowling meets, and a healthy crowd is expected at the state meet for the Bobcats later today.

But that all starts with the coaches and the players, Taylor Sr. said. Without them, the dedication is moot.

“I’ve told the students I’ll do anything in the world for them, to help them be more successful with their bowling,” Taylor Sr. said. “If that means getting up at 4:30 in the morning, then I expect that from them. So the ones who are here, bowling in the postseason, they’ve earned it. They’ve put in a lot of time and games and effort in to be here. I’m proud of them, absolutely proud of them. And they should be proud of themselves, because there are a lot of schools and communities across the country who don’t have programs.”

Marshalltown bowls in the Class 3A state tournament at Plaza Lanes in Des Moines today, beginning at 10 a.m.

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