This season there are eight total Bobcats who will carry the MHS banner at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA across three different events, almost tripling the amount of qualifiers from just a year ago.

Marshalltown head coach Angie Nelson said due to the new format with preliminary races on Friday and finals races on Saturday, there are eight more qualifiers for each event, but that doesn’t take away from what her girls have accomplished this season.

“It’s promising, though every year is a different year,” she said. “We have a different format with more competitors in each one, but I am really pleased with our regional performance. I’m really glad we’ve got some girls swimming or diving in each of the sessions at state. I’m excited to have some girls in our hometown pool.”

Four seniors — Alli Trowbridge, Sami Trowbridge, Taylor Hrabak and Shakira Herrera — return to the state meet for at least their second appearance, while four underclassmen — juniors CeCe Waltermire and Cori Jorgensen and sophomores Klaudia Hernandez and Hannah Taylor — will make their state debut.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON The Marshalltown state qualifying swimmers and divers leap into their home pool before practice on Wednesday. Pictured are, from left, CeCe Waltermire, Cori Jorgenson, Klaudia Hernandez, Taylor Hrabak, Alli Trowbridge, Sami Trowbridge and Hannah Taylor.

The Trowbridge sisters and Taylor all qualified in the diving meet, giving the Bobcats one tenth of the total state diving qualifiers, while Herrera will swim in the 100-yard butterfly individually after setting a new Marshalltown record in the regional meet with a 1:00.29 and Hrabak, Herrera, Jorgenson and Hernandez compete in the 400 freestyle relay, with Waltermire as the alternate.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better regional meet, we did an amazing job in both diving and swimming,” Nelson said. “I think out of all of the things that happened in the last championship week, our girls poured their hearts and souls into their competitions and did an amazing job.”

Both Herrera and Hrabak competed in the 400 freestyle relay as freshmen, and Hrabak said they weren’t necessarily expecting to get another chance to swim the race their senior year.

“It was a pretty big shock, we have been trying to get there for the past two years and we always came up short, and that’s what the other relays were,” Hrabak said. “It was kind of nice to see that we can make it in the 400-free relay, which I was in freshman year too.”

Herrera agreed with her fellow senior, saying the near misses from the last few years all felt worth it.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON Marshalltown swimmers Klaudia Hernandez, CeCe Waltermire, Shakira Herrera and Cori Jorgenson encourage teammate Taylor Hrabak on the starting block.

“It feels really good, I know sophomore and junior year we tried really hard to go to state again but being senior year, my last year, it just makes it feel whole,” Herrera said. “My whole four years, it makes it feel complete.”

The reason it was a shock to the girls that they got in for the 400 freestyle relay was because of their time. They swam their best time of the season, a 3:54.10, but that was almost three full seconds behind the 31st qualifier in Newton, who came in with a 3:51.59.

“We had two relays that were within a second of the cut time that didn’t make it, and then we have a relay that’s three seconds back that did make it,” Nelson said. “It’s interesting and ironic, this is the first time for everyone in the new format, so everyone around the state is still trying to figure out how this stuff works and how to train our girls to make regionals and make prelims and finals at state.”

The girls didn’t actually find out they had qualified until later on Saturday evening after all the regional results had been posted, and Jorgenson said it made for a funny moment with her family.

“We were celebrating my dad’s birthday and I announced to my whole family that I made it to state. They were all hugging me and going, ‘woo, you’re the first family member who made it to state!’ and then my dad was like, ‘well it’s my birthday!'” Jorgenson said with a laugh.

Hernandez was also refreshing constantly to see if they had made it, though she didn’t have as much of an audience for when she found out.

“It was really exciting because I knew there was a slim chance,” she said. “Just to find out, it got my heart pumping and I was kind of screaming by myself because nobody was home.”

Because of where they are in the qualifications, Nelson said the girls actually have an advantage.

“We already know what we are trying to do here, we are trying to better our time and trying to move up a spot,” Nelson said. “I think that is completely doable for all of these girls, they have been working really hard this week to hone in on some starts, hone in on some turns, fix a couple of relay exchanges that weren’t the best on Saturday. I think they can achieve that and I am really looking forward to watching what they can do.

“The pressure is off, this is the gravy. They get to swim free, there isn’t a whole lot of pressure there. They each know what they need to do and I think they can get it done.”

Hrabak said she isn’t worried about the team putting in the work necessary to improve and compete.

“All the girls try their hardest, they work hard and give everything they can every single day. It’s nice to work with girls that want to be here and do the best that they can,” Hrabak said.

Waltermire, who might not get to swim as the alternate, said it’s still a great time continuing the work with the team.

“I’m pretty excited being chosen to be the alternate,” she said.

Hernandez also thinks being in 32nd is a good position, mainly because there is no where to go but up.

“Regionals was the meet to get into state, it was either you make it or you don’t. This meet is just go out and swim,” she said. “We are ranked 32nd, we’re not going to go back down to 33rd. We can only get better.”

The Iowa Girls’ High School State Swimming and Diving Meet at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA will start with preliminary races on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The finals for individual events and all relays will be held on Saturday afternoon, starting at 4 p.m.