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What they lack in quantity, the Bobcats hope to eventually overcome in quality.
And if all goes according to plan, the Marshalltown girls track team may come through with its best scoring efforts when it matters most – districts and state.
Working through some early injuries on his 25-member roster, Bobcat girls track coach Chad Pietig is confident his team can shine brightest on the biggest stages in May. With several top individuals in tow, the most important meets will allow his team’s talents to overcome most of its shortcomings in depth.
“I won’t be surprised if we score more points at the district meet or the state meet than we do at invitationals,” Pietig said, “just because our holes in our lineup aren’t going to affect us at those other meets like they are at an invitational where we’re going to give up so many points before we even step on the track.”
The Bobcats wield some sizable talent in the throwing and jumping events as well as the middle-distance and long-sprint races.
Seniors Maggie Carnahan and Sam Hughes lead a talented group of throwers. Carnahan finished 15th at Drake Stadium in the discus last year and has shown some early promise in the shot this year. Hughes, who made big strides in the shot last season before enduring a thumb injury, has added some additional depth in the discus.
“Our throwing events are one of our major strengths, we’ve got a lot of experience coming back in that group,” Pietig said.
Middle distance standout Rachel Blagg is a two-time state qualifier in the 800 and is coming off a state meet appearance in cross country. The senior is one of three returnees back from 2014’s 10th-place distance medley which also included Tabby Steffensen and Jasmine Scott.
Blagg, Scott and Daesha Underhill also return from the ‘Cats’ state-qualifying 4×400.
“Rachel is a top middle distance runner in the state,” Pietig said. “Her 800 should be a strength and putting that on a relay or two should be a strength for us.”
Blagg and Steffensen are still working their way back from injuries sustained in basketball but should be ready to compete early in the outdoor season.
Scott and Karli McClure highlight a spare but strong group of sprinters.
“We don’t have a lot of numbers in the sprints but I feel really confident in the quality of kids that we have,” Pietig said. “Jasmine and Karli, those two girls worked extremely hard from fall all through the winter in the weight room and you can tell. They’ve just made huge gains and so I think our long sprinters, 200 and 400, should be a strength.”
Freshmen Regan Mazour and Ciara Feldman have provided an immediate impact with Mazour claiming a high jump title at Central College Saturday, while both she and Feldman have contributed to the sprint relays. Both come into the spring with previous experience on the varsity level and have had no difficulty transitioning that confidence to the track.
“They’re both very good athletes, very competitive,” Pietig said. “You can tell that they’ve already had varsity experience in volleyball and basketball. They are just fearless when it comes to that. When we went to Iowa State there were over 80 high jumpers and Regan didn’t bat an eye at that, that’s their type of mentality.”
The Bobcats’ junior class, led by Underhill and Guadalupe Estrada, has steadily progressed and will be ready to fill in bigger roles this year.
“We didn’t need a lot from our junior class last year so we were able to bring them along real nice and slow,” Pietig said. “We started to see toward the end of the year some varsity potential from them so I think they will contribute this year. They’re going to have to because they are our depth. We don’t have a lot but I feel pretty good with what we have.”
The Bobcats’ distance crew will be a work in progress as they look to gain experience through the season.
“We only have five distance runners, that’s going to really hurt us trying to fill those events,” Pietig said. “They are all first or second-year runners so we’ll just have to be real patient with them and bring them along and hopefully by the end of the year they feel like they can contribute.”
From their throwers and jumpers, to their middle distance talent and long sprint relays, the Bobcats have several athletes capable of earning bids to the state meet. But MHS wants more than just getting there.
“We’ve done really well at getting kids to the state meet and these kids have been there a couple of times,” Pietig said.
“We’ve talked about, ‘ok let’s take that next step and not just get to state, let’s get in to the top 10 or get into the top 8 and get points.’ I think big picture, end of the season, those are all realistic goals for us.”
The Bobcats take that first step forward Thursday in their outdoor debut at Boone at 4:30 p.m.