When MHS head coach Mike Loupee timed out the projected lineups ahead of the Bobcats’ double dual with Dowling Catholic and Newton/Colfax-Mingo/Pella on Thursday, Loupee predicted a narrow loss for the Bobcats to NCMP, if everything went according to the times.

To Loupee’s pleasant surprise, the Bobcats scratched out a win, topping the Cardinals, 58-36. Marshalltown wasn’t as fortunate against Dowling, falling 68-26 to the Maroons, but then again, Dowling does currently sit third in the team power rankings. For comparison, heading into Thursday’s double dual, NCMP was 30th in the power rankings, while Marshalltown sat at 33rd. Dowling topped NCMP 78-16 Thursday.

“In scouting, (NCMP) was a couple places ahead of us in the power rankings,” Loupee said. “Coach (Sam) Backstrom knew it was going to be a close meet. We spent a lot of time on the lineup. … To turn around and win by (22), that’s a testament to the competitive drive our guys have. We laid it out to them with the challenge that we had an opportunity to get a win. We were going to have to go shoulder-to-shoulder. Every time you had a chance to beat a kid from Newton, you needed to do that.”

The Bobcats collected a pair of wins out of the 11 events, while finishing second three times and posted four third-place finishes. As a squad, the Bobcats posted 34 season-best times, while collecting 14 lifetime-best times.

T-R PHOTO BY ADAM RING • Marshalltown swimmer Gage Petty swims the third leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay Thursday at Marshalltown High School. The relay finished in 3 minutes, 35.56 seconds as MHS defeated Newton/Colfax-Mingo/Pella, but fell to Dowling Catholic.

Gage Petty and Carson Beals finished 1-2 in the 100-yard backstroke. Petty won in 1 minute, 1.24 seconds, while Beals finished in 1:04.32, edging out Dowling’s Gage Agnew who took third in 1:04.75. The other Bobcat win happened in the 50 freestyle where Ryne Downey finished in 23.32 seconds, posting a season-best time.

Downey had one of the Bobcats’ second-place finishes. The sophomore finished the 100 freestyle in 52.66, coming in less than a second behind Dowling’s Karter Shimon who won in 51.78. Pom Pinitchan came in second in the 200 individual medley. He posted a time of 2:11.77, which was just .04 seconds off his season-best.

Pinitchan took third in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 5:24.81. Coert Groff finished third in the 100 butterfly in a time of 1:05.47, cutting 1.81 off from his previous season-best time. Two Marshalltown relays claimed the other third-place finishes. The 200 freestyle relay of Downey, Beals, Pinitchan and Petty finished in 1:36.50, and was barely beaten by Dowling’s relay (1:36.09) for second. The same four swam the 400 freestyle relay, but in a different order (Downey, Beals, Petty and Pinitchan), swam a 3:35.56 for third.

“Dowling is a quality team, and there’s a reason they’re ranked third,” Loupee said. “They have some great swimmers, and some kids that have a high level of talent. In watching, they’re working on and their coaching staff is saying the same thing to those guys as we are to our guys.

“The Dowling coaching staff did a nice job. They moved some guys around and made some competitive races, for their guys, but also for us. Gave us an opportunity to race in a couple places, and that shows in our (lifetime-bests). You get excited, you’re swimming next to a guy from one of the best teams in the state, and that gets the adrenaline flowing and pushes you to a best time. So, I’m appreciative of the Dowling staff for setting up some races.”

T-R PHOTO BY ADAM RING

After being home for four of the last five competitions, the Bobcats take to the road next Thursday for one last meet before winter break, traveling to Des Moines Hoover/North. Marshalltown will then be off until Jan. 3 when it travels to Indianola. The Bobcats won be back in the home pool until Jan. 5 against Mason City.

At Marshalltown

Marshalltown 58, Newton/C-M/Pella 36

Dowling Catholic 68, Marshalltown 26

Dowling Catholic 78, Newton/C-M/Pella16

EVENT RESULTS

(Champion plus MHS placewinners)

200 MEDLEY RELAY — 1. DC (Westercamp, Johnson, Renze, Dohrmann) 1:46.20; 4. MHS (Streets, N. Summers, C. Summers, Barkema) 2:01.75.

200 FREESTYLE — 1. Gaylor, NCMP, 1:53.02; 4. Petty, MHS, 2:02.55; 5. Groff, MHS, 2:04.15.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — 1. Westercamp, DC, 2:09.65; 2. Pinitchan, MHS, 2:11.77; 5. N. Summers, MHS, 2:34.12.

50 FREESTYLE — 1. Downey, MHS, 23.32; 5. Barkema, MHS, 25.72.

100 BUTTERFLY — 1. Renze, DC, 56.31; 3. Groff, MHS, 1:05.47; 4. C. Summers, MHS, 1:05.84.

100 FREESTYLE — 1. Shimon, DC, 51.78; 2. Downey, MHS, 52.66; 4. Beals, MHS, 53.26.

500 FREESTYLE — 1. Larson, DC, 4:54.75; 3. Pinitchan, MHS, 5:24.81.

200 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. DC (Westercamp, Coleman, Johnson, Larson) 1:34.03; 3. MHS (Downey, Beals, Pinitchan, Petty) 1:36.50.

100 BACKSTROKE — 1. Petty, MHS, 1:01.24; 2. Beals, MHS, 1:04.32.

100 BREASTSTROKE — 1. Larson, DC, 1:03.56; 4. Barkema, MHS, 1:20.49.

400 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. DC (Shimon, Nelson, Johnson, Chase) 3:29.66; 3. MHS (Downey, Beals, Petty, Pinitchan) 3:35.56.