Marshalltown boys’ bowling arrives every year in February, ready to continue its tradition of success in the postseason. Tuesday was no different.

The Bobcats were sitting in fourth place following 12 of the 15 Bakers games at the Class 3A state qualifying meet and needed a strong finish to get past Linn-Mar ad Cedar Falls for the second and final team qualifying spot.

What followed was a three-game stretch that saw the Bobcats sneak into second place with a late flourish in the 14th and 15th Bakers, and the 210-216 ending was enough for a total of 2,952 — 29 pins above third-place Linn-Mar and 49 above fourth-placed Cedar Falls. It is the ninth-straight season the Bobcats have qualified for state as a team.

Head coach Nate Clark said there was full confidence in the Bobcats to get through this round and continue the team’s run.

“It’s what we do here, go to state,” Clark said. “Earlier I heard someone say, ‘Death, taxes and Marshalltown bowling going to state.’

“I’m just at a loss for words. It’s just a lot.”

Marshalltown started strong with a first Baker of 203, but a second game score of 142 was a difficult setback in a tough district that included teams like Waterloo West (who advanced to state easily with 3,145 pins), Linn-Mar, Cedar Falls, Mason City and Dubuque Senior.

Bouncing back from the poor second game with 179, 230 and 193 in the next three games, the Bobcats put together a consistent stretch of good Bakers and were sitting in fourth place.

Five games later (225, 235, 170, 198, 206) and Marshalltown was in third but over 100 pins behind Cedar Falls for the second state qualifying spot heading into the final five games.

With the Tigers beginning to falter under the pressure and Linn-Mar running hot and cold, the Bobcats found themselves within 40 points of second place with three games to go.

After a 179 in the 13th Baker, seniors Aaron Ratte and Damon Borton put pressure on themselves to deliver in the ninth and 10th frames with state on the line.

Ratte said it was nerve-wracking.

“There was a lot [of pressure], I was shaking on my last couple of balls,” Ratte said. “It relieved a lot of stress, it was amazing.”

Four straight strikes to end game four with 210 put the Bobcats four points ahead of both the Lions and Tigers for the second-place qualifying spot and one game to play.

Clark said he felt confident the Bobcats had a spot locked up before the final game was over.

“I knew we probably had it clinched in the seventh frame of that last game,” Clark said. “I knew Damon was gonna strike out, I knew Aaron would roll a strike.

“I knew it inside, I didn’t let them know yet.”

Marshalltown ended with strikes in the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th frames (with three in the final frame from Borton) to clinch state in style over the chasing pack. The cheers and the realization hit the Bobcats right after, and it was difficult to get back to their best later in the day after the excitement and success in the team competition.

No Bobcats would qualify as individuals, but Jayden Beichley led Marshalltown in the individual series with 187-227-172–586, followed by Ratte at 161-175-228–574 and Quentin Stanton at 162-220-147–529. Aiden Cowan rolled 142-181-199–522 and Damon Borton had 172-193-146–511. Javi Nunez had a 151-136-170–459.

State team bowling will take place Wednesday at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo starting at 10 a.m.