MASON CITY — The Marshalltown boys’ swimming squad was tired of swimming against itself after three weeks of training since the holiday break began back in December.

Yet in three events during Thursday’s CIML Iowa Conference dual at Mason City, it was all Bobcats at the top.

The Marshalltown High School boys swept three events in their return to action Thursday, swimming away with a 57-37 victory over the host Mohawks to improve to 9-0 this winter.

The Bobcats (3-0 CIML Iowa) won seven of the 11 events, simply savoring the opportunity to get back into the pool while swimming alongside somebody else for the first time in a long time.

“We needed a meet,” said MHS head coach Mike Loupee. “From the start of the season to the first meet in November we had 12 practices, and from the Southeast Polk meet before Christmas break to tonight we’ve had 22 practices. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an opportunity to compete.

“In 16 practices over Christmas break the guys swam over 90,000 yards. [Assistant] coach [Leah] Barkema and I were looking to see some improvement and we did.”

The Bobcats banked 51 season-best times and 16 lifetime-best efforts between the varsity and junior varsity squads, highlighted according to Loupee by the 200-yard freestyle relay’s one-second drop. The foursome of Aaron Seberger, Marcus Barker, Nash Perisho and Carson Beals came away with first place in a combined time of 1:32.05.

“That’s a pretty good collection of numbers for the amount of work we put in,” Loupee said of the season- and lifetime-best clockings the Bobcats racked up. “We had a few opportunities to race tonight. Our senior leaders and guys in position to compete for first or second did their jobs.”

The most hotly contested race of the night was the 50 freestyle, in which Mason City’s August Davison (23.11) edged out Marshalltown’s Seberger (23.29) and fellow Mohawk Trevor Torkelson (23.30).

Beals swam a season-best time in beating Torkelson to the wall in the 100 freestyle, while Mason City’s Ryan Korthals out-touched Seberger in the 100 backstroke, 1:00.52 to 1:00.97.

Marshalltown’s 1-2 finishes came from the 200 freestyle, the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. In the 200, Perisho and Beals raced each other to the finish in respective times of 1:50.50 and 1:53.21. In the 200 individual medley, Barker (2:09.43) comfortably beat Stephen Blom (2:19.85) to the wall. In the 500, Tyler Downey charted his season-best time in defeating Blom in a relatively close race considering the distance. Downey clocked in at 5:27.40, while Blom was just behind him at 5:29.32.

Seberger and Dane Petty both swam season-best times in the 100 backstroke, while the 400 freestyle relay quartet of Perisho, Downey, Beals and Barker was just three seconds off its best time let.

“We as coaches tell the kids they put in all the work and all the yards they need to be better and they’re swimming tired, so if they’re swimming faster while they’re tired, that just gets you excited for taper,” Loupee said. “Every kid responds to the workload and responds to getting stronger in different ways. It was good to have people to race and good to have a swim meet to break up the doldrums of training.”

The Bobcats have a week off to prepare for their next CIML Iowa dual, next Thursday’s home meet against West Des Moines Valley. It also serves as Senior Night even though it’s not Marshalltown’s last home meet on the schedule.

Marshalltown 57, Mason City 37

At Mason City

EVENT RESULTS

(Champion plus MHS placewinners)

200 MEDLEY RELAY — 1. MC (Berg, Davison, Korthals, Torkelson) 1:47.34; 2. MHS (Seberger, Keeler, Blom, Benscoter) 1:52.29.

200 FREESTYLE — 1. Nash Perisho, MHS, 1:50.50; 2. Carson Beals, MHS, 1:53.21.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — 1. Marcus Barker, MHS, 2:09.43; 2. Stephen Blom, MHS, 2:19.85.

50 FREESTYLE — 1. August Davison, MC, 23.11; 2. Aaron Seberger, MHS, 23.29; 4. Ethan Benscoter, MHS, 24.08.

100 BUTTERFLY — 1. Perisho, MHS, 57.00; 3. Brock Keeler, MHS, 1:02.83.

100 FREESTYLE — 1. Beals, MHS, 49.65; 4. Benscoter, MHS, 53.53.

500 FREESTYLE — 1. Tyler Downey, MHS, 5:27.40; 2. Blom, MHS, 5:29.32.

200 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. MHS (Seberger, Barker, Perisho, Beals) 1:32.05; 3. MHS (Keeler, Hunt, Barlow, Downey) 1:42.69.

100 BACKSTROKE — 1. Ryan Korthals, MC, 1:00.52; 2. Seberger, MHS, 1:00.97; 3. Dane Petty, MHS, 1:02.85.

100 BREASTSTROKE — 1. Davison, MC, 1:06.64; 2. Barker, MHS, 1:07.56; 4. Keeler, MHS, 1:12.41.

400 FREESTYLE RELAY — 1. MHS (Perisho, Downey, Beals, Barker) 3:29.39.