T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - The Marshalltown girls swimming and diving team has qualified three divers and two relays for the upcoming state championships at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA. Pictured, from left, are Averie Wittkop, Taylor Jones, Abby Tollefson, Maeve Janssen, Mia Rasmusson, Lesli Waltermire, Klaudia Hernandez and Hannah Taylor.

To say it’s been a complicated year for Marshalltown diving would be an understatement.

The Bobcats have dealt with the uncertainty and changing tides of the COVID-19 pandemic, the derecho that hit Marshalltown in August and the fast-approaching switch of Marshalltown to virtual learning.

As one of the final two fall sports events of the season, three Bobcat divers have advanced to the state tournament hosted by the team at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA. Diving events will be held Friday starting at 11 a.m. There will not be spectators allowed at the event.

The first of the three divers is team leader and senior captain Hannah Taylor, who will be competing in her final competitive meet as a diver and expressed sadness about her Bobcat career ending. Taylor won the Valley regional site and is the seventh seed heading into Friday’s competition, with her best chance yet of medaling.

“I’m really excited because it’ll be my last meet ever,” Taylor said. “And I’m just so glad that I have a bigger team with us to just celebrate this last hurrah at the end of the year. I feel like this year, especially, [making state] is an even bigger success because we went into the season not even knowing if we were going to have practice.”

The state diving competition is comprised of a first five dives and then cuts, which separates it from regular-season events.

Bobcat head coach Angie Nelson said the different format has been discussed at practice and emphasis has been put on the all-important first five.

“I’d like to see them all move up from where they’re seeded,” Nelson said. “Once you get past that first five and you’re still in, there’s just find of this ultimate weight lifted off of you because it’s so tight in the first five. The scoring is tight, the diving is tight and it’s really hard for anyone to jump out ahead.”

Abby Tollefson, a freshman who attends West Marshall High School but competes for the Bobcats, is the second of three state qualifiers. Tollefson has made big improvements over the course of the season, Taylor said, and it culminated in her finishing second in the Valley Regional to punch her ticket to state.

The gymnast said after her performance at regionals that practice has made her a better diver — and in her freshman year, she’ll have an opportunity to make her mark as the 11th seed.

“I’ve been very impressed, because looking back at my freshman year, it is just incredible to see how much she has progressed from the start of the year to now,” Taylor said.

Junior Mia Rasmusson is the third and final qualifier for the Bobcats, seeded 23rd, and making state for the second-straight year. Rasmusson finished 31st in the state tournament last year.

At times, Marshalltown divers didn’t know when they would be able to compete next. But Friday morning, they’ll be able to finish their seasons on home turf.