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Bobcats climb to new altitude

Brilliant MHS boys win district title, send five to state singles & doubles

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - The Marshalltown High School boys’ tennis team poses with its Class 2A district champion banner after winning the event Tuesday at Johnston. Pictured, clockwise from lower left, are: Gavin Jablonski, Nile Christensen, Justin Melde, Drake Davis, John Loney, Kevin Strand, Nic Price, Ethan Benscoter and Jason Strand.

JOHNSTON — Jason Stroud said he’d never seen Marshalltown boys’ tennis coach James Christensen so happy.

The Bobcats had just completed what is to this point the highlight of an already strong season, one which began with the opening of a sterling tennis complex at the high school and has now put five players in the state tournament and now has the Bobcats on the cusp of a team state berth.

Marshalltown took home a district title Wednesday at Johnston, scoring 29 points to beat out the Dragons on their home court. The milestone has been a few years coming for Marshalltown, as Christensen made sure to point out. The Bobcats had state qualifiers for the first time since 2018 when Luke Smith and Luke McKibben made it as a doubles pairing.

“It’s incredible,” Christensen said. “This is the culmination of a few years, a lot of guys who didn’t get to have a senior year [Luke McKibben, Jack Gruening, Luke Smith, Lucas Kramer], they started this a long time ago and they’re just as much a part of this district title as we are.”

The Bobcats began the day with singles player Drake Davis, who came back for a three-set win over Lane McGraw of Indianola, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to move on to the quarterfinals. Davis would lose in his quarterfinal match against eventual third-place finisher Issac Meyer of Southeast Polk, 6-3, 7-6.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Marshalltown High School sophomore Nile Christensen, right, leaps to make a return at the net during doubles play at Wednesday’s Class 2A district meet at Johnston. Christensen and doubles partner Ethan Benscoter advanced to state doubles as runners-up to teammates Kevin and Jason Strand.

After Davis got underway, so did the Bobcats’ two doubles pairings — Kevin and Jason Strand and Ethan Benscoter and Nile Christensen. Both moved on to the semifinals with ease, winning 6-0, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-2 in their opening matches.

In the semifinals, the Strand brothers went up against the Johnston duo of Campbell Love and Caden Launderville. A hard-fought first set was won 6-4 by the Strands, setting the scene for a convincing 6-1 demolition in the second set and a locked-up trip to state.

The match between Benscoter/Christensen and Johnston’s Inesh Gogineni and Tate Larsen was not clear sailing. The first set was back-and-forth, with neither side firmly seizing an advantage nor being able to keep one. After a very long deuce that went nearly 15 minutes on its own, Benscoter and Christensen prevailed to take the set 7-5.

Some more hard work was required to finish off the second set 6-4, setting up an all-Marshalltown final in the doubles bracket.

Jason said it was very unique to play against teammates in a competitive match.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

“We had time to think about it, but normally you think about what’s good about your teammates,” Jason said. “We had to think about what we could control, and it’s kind of weird thinking of your friends as your enemies.”

Nic Price was the third seed in the singles bracket and got through his quarterfinal and semifinal matches without much fuss — beating Jackson Becker of Indianola 6-1, 6-0 and Johnston’s Tyler Barp 6-0, 6-0 to qualify for state.

Price went up against Johnston’s Nicholas Lauderville in the finals. Down 1-0 early in the match, Price began to cramp up all over his left leg. After a lengthy pause to see if he would be able to continue, Price elected to carry on. With an obvious limp and with coaches and teammates bringing in Gatorade and a sugar cookie to try and stave off the cramps, Price finished the match. He came out on the losing end 6-1, 6-2, but he did so knowing he had his ticket booked already.

Christensen was very proud of the senior for the way he competed.

“He’s such a high-energy guy,” Christensen said. “Being able to battle like that in a singles match was pretty incredible. Nic’s a guy who’s based on movement and keeping the ball in play, frustrating the other guy. He gave everything he had, we’re basically going to have to wheel him over to the bus to get him home.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Up next for the Bobcats as a team is a battle with either Council Bluffs Lincoln or Des Moines Roosevelt on May 22 at West Des Moines Valley. The winner will advance to the first round of the state tournament later that day for the chance to advance to the state tournament’s Final Four on June 1 in Ankeny.

Class 2A Districts

At Johnston

Singles

First Round

Drake Davis, MHS, def. Lane McGraw, Indianola, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Jackson Becker, IND, def. Lucas Quick, SEP, 6-4, 6-1

Second Round

Nicholas Launderville, JHN, def. Luke Vaughn, FD, 6-2, 6-4

Isaac Meyer, SEP, def. Drake Davis, MHS, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)

Nic Price, MHS, def. Jackson Becker, IND, 6-1, 6-0

Tyler Barp, JHN, def. Matthias Hippen, FD, 6-0, 6-0

Semifinals

Nicholas Launderville, JHN, def. Isaac Meyer, SEP, 6-1, 6-1

Nic Price, MHS, def. Tyler Barp, JHN, 6-0, 6-1

Finals

Nicholas Launderville, JHN, def. Nic Price, MHS, 6-1, 6-2

Third Place

Isaac Meyer, SEP, def. Tyler Barp, JHN, 6-1, 6-3

——

DOUBLES

First Round

Drake Downward and Logan Hageman, IND, def. Tanner Gradner and Jesse Struble, SEP, 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2

Drew Wolfe and Zach Funk, SEP, def. Nathan Beekman and Peyton Hays, FD, 6-0, 6-3

Second Round

Kevin Strand and Jason Strand, MHS, def. Alexander Hansen and Mike Miller, FD, 6-0, 6-0

Campbell Love and Caden Launderville, JHN, def. Downward and Hageman, IND, 6-2, 6-1

Inesh Gogineni and Tate Larsen, JHN, def. Wolfe and Funk, SEP, 6-2, 6-2

Ethan Benscoter and Nile Christensen, MHS, def. Logan Darrah and Casey Daughenbaugh, IND, 6-1, 6-2

Semifinals

Strand and Strand, MHS, def. Love and Launderville, JHN, 6-4, 6-1

Benscoter and Christensen, MHS, def. Gogineni and Larsen, JHN, 7-5, 6-4

Finals

Strand and Strand, MHS, def. Benscoter and Christensen, MHS, 6-4, 6-4

Third Place

Gogineni and Larsen, JHN, def. Love and Launderville, JHN, 6-3, 6-3

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