T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Marshalltown High School (MHS) eSports coaching intern Ross Vitek, Mario Kart team members Rayna Cox and Zepplin McCulley and Head Coach Ranen Spies pose for a photo with their 2026 Class 3A state championship banner and trophy on Wednesday afternoon. It was the first state title in MHS program history.

In the fall of 2022, Marshalltown High School (MHS) alum and Marshalltown Community College (MCC) student-athlete Amber Lawthers shocked the world when she won an NJCAAE national championship in Mario Kart and, in the process, helped to put her hometown program on the map, transforming the school and her city into a hub for competitive eSports in Iowa.

It was that same year that MHS first launched its own program, and during the recent state eSports Showdown at the BA Niblock Orpheum Welcome Center, the Bobcat team, also competing in Mario Kart, won the first state title in program history at the highest level of competition in Class 3A. Head Coach Ranen Spies, Coaching intern and 2025 MHS graduate Ross Vitek and players Rayna Cox, a junior, and Zepplin McCulley, a freshman, spoke to the T-R on Wednesday about what the achievement means to them and the goals they still have for the future.

“It was exhilarating when we won. We were jumping up and down,” Cox said.

McCulley reflected on the repeated practice and drills they ran through in the lead-up to the big win and how good it felt to see it pay off this spring. Spies, now in his third year coaching at MHS, described a “nagging feeling” after the team qualified for state in Mario Kart during its first year in existence but hadn’t taken the next step to winning it all.

“It definitely means a lot, talking about having Marshalltown (and) MCC in the community is invaluable because they’re known for Mario Kart and you can see that kind of trickling down to the high school,” Spies said.

In addition, McCulley felt that the win solidifies Marshalltown as the hub for Mario Kart not only in Iowa but possibly across all of the Midwest, and both he and Cox said that while they haven’t made any firm decisions, they’re definitely considering taking their talents to the next level and playing at MCC in the future.

The two teams have enjoyed a remarkable synergy throughout their combined existences, a fact not lost on Spies and MCC Coach Nate Rodemeyer.

“As the MCC coach and an MHS graduate, it was really a full circle moment to see two MCC students I coached go lead the MHS team to its first state title alongside the wonderful Coach Spies who I’ve known for years,” Rodemeyer said. “I just sat back as a support figure for Ross and Luis while they worked directly with Spies and the MHS team. Of course, the lion’s share of the credit goes to the MHS students who worked so hard to achieve their goals, but to see so many parties come together really showcases just how embedded esports has become into the community.”

Spies credited Vitek, who currently plays at MCC, with bringing that knowledge back to the high school level and sharing it with the high school players. The Bobcats are only losing two players from this year’s team — one to graduation and another moving away — but their goal is simple now: do it again next spring.

The full roster of the state championship team was comprised of Cox, McCulley, Fran Rodriguez, Victor Rodriguez, Victor Gutierrez Cruz, Aidan Pantle, Armando Negrete Garcia and Thor Nyguard along with the coaches — Spies, Vitek and Luis Valdez.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.