Carson Beals and Ryne Downey

Last season the Marshalltown boys swimming team ended a three-year drought at the state meet by sending competitors to Iowa City in four events, and this year the Bobcats are set to have an even stronger year.

Of the five swimmers who competed at the state meet last year, three return in senior Ryne Downey and juniors Carson Beals and Nash Perisho, while state alternate Caleb Summers is also back for his senior season.

Marshalltown head coach Mike Loupee said not only does his team bring back quite a bit of talent from the previous year, they have all gotten better in the offseason.

“To start the season we have all been really pleased with the work ethic and the general attitude,” Loupee said during practice last week. “The guys have come into the season and are very excited to go. Part of that comes from having had a USA program, the guys that are dedicated to swimming had an opportunity to focus on their craft for longer than three months and they have a feeling that we might have some good success this year and that’s got them excited.”

While the Bobcats were back in the state meet, representing Marshalltown in Iowa City in the first year the meet was moved from the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA since 2004, they didn’t have the success they were looking for. Downey was the only Bobcat to place, taking 12th in the 50-yard freestyle, and Loupee said though they were disappointed with how things shook out it was better for the guys coming back in the long run.

“A couple guys weren’t feeling the best, weather extended our trip to Iowa City, we were out of our routine and consequently we did not swim as well as we had hoped,” he said. “I think having the excitement of the state meet and coupling that with some disappointment, we have some guys who have some good motivation at this point in time.”

Downey was the team’s top swimmer in the 50 and 100 freestyle last year, and he had the ninth-best 50 free time in the state among swimmers returning this season. Loupee said Downey has fundamentally changed the way he has approached his races as well, which should lead to an uptick in his performance.

“Ryne has swam all year, he’s lifted, he’s a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger,” Loupee said. “He has also worked very hard at reinventing his strokes and we are guardedly optimistic that he is going to take a step forward. He has the opportunity, no predictions, but he has the opportunity to be one of the elite sprinters in the state.”

Downey isn’t the only one Loupee said has shown a commitment to improving, in fact he was hard pressed to find a returner that hasn’t taken a step in the right direction.

“Up and down the lineup, all of our returning guys look stronger, they look better in the water and they are attacking practice with a better sense of purpose,” Loupee said. “All of the experienced guys look great, and then we’ve got a handful of guys that have never swam and their attitude, their work ethic, their coachability has been phenomenal. It’s been a lot of fun to be at practice the last few weeks.”

Beals was the only other individual state qualifier from last season, as he and Downey both swam in the 100 freestyle. Loupee said Beals also has the makings of one of the top swimmers in the state.

“Carson has all the strokes, he’s bigger and stronger,” Loupee said. “He played football so we are working on getting him into swimming condition and so as quickly as we can get him in swimming shape he has some strong possibilities as well.”

Not only is there a good atmosphere and talent level on the team, Loupee said he’s encouraged by the sheer number of swimmers he has out.

“Right now we are at 27 and that’s a handful more than we’ve had in quite a few years,” he said. “Last year we were just over 20, five or six more doesn’t sound like a lot but it is. We have a full pool, guys have got people to race and people to compete against in practice, and so far the group seems to be meshing well. They like each other’s company and they enjoy working with each other and encouraging each other.”

In seasons past, particularly last year, the Bobcats were strong in the freestyle races but some of the other strokes came up short. Loupee said he expects that won’t be the case this year.

“I think we will be improved in the individual medley, we have senior Blaine Gunderson and he has worked all year so we are looking for improvement out of him,” Loupee said. “We also have freshman Marcus Barker who has all four strokes and is a strong swimmer coming out of the [Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA Blue Wave program]. There’s also Jacob Eberle, who is much improved over his career and looks really good in the water.

“Our breaststroke has not been very strong for us but the guys who have been swimming that — Blaine, David Wahl, Brock Keeler — they all have been swimming, they all have been lifting and they all are bigger and stronger. What has been a weakness in our lineup has now turned into a strength.”

What Loupee said he and the rest of the coaching staff, assistant coaches Sam Backstrom and Leah Barkema, are most encouraged by is the team’s ability to mix and match lineups.

“We have not had a lot of flexibility in our lineup, but with the number of guys we have out, with the returners and some of the youngsters coming in that have swimming experience, it’s the first time in a long time that the coaching staff has chess pieces,” he said. “We can move guys around in the lineup that will keep things fresh for the swimmers, that helps us explore our strongest lineup and that also keeps things more questionable for teams we are going to compete with, they have to do a little more guesswork on where our top guys are going to show up in the lineup.

“For instance the 400 free relay that went to the state meet last year, we have three of those four boys returning in Carson, Ryne and Nash Perisho,” Loupee continued. “We have six guys that could work at one of those four spots, and they already know that. They like each other’s company and they are getting along and they are working hard, but they are also competing against each other. As a coach you just sit back and smile at that, and that’s a fun position to be in for everyone involved.”

The Marshalltown boys will get their season started today with a road triangular against Des Moines East and Oskaloosa at Des Moines East, starting at 5:30 p.m.