DES MOINES — Marshalltown boys golf didn’t have its best round on Tuesday.

But the Bobcats found their focus at the right time to lock in an Iowa Alliance team title at the conference meet at A.H. Blank Golf Course in Des Moines.

Marshalltown scored a team total of 313, six strokes better than Ottumwa. Ames and Mason City were in third and fourth with 322 strokes each.

Tuesday’s win is the third consecutive conference championship for the Bobcat boys dating back to their 2021 CIML win prior to joining the Alliance.

“This was one of our goals this season and for us to grind it out when we didn’t necessarily play our best and still come away with a championship is a great feeling,” said MHS head coach Lucas Johnson. “I think all of the guys would tell you they still have a lot of good golf left to be played.”

The Bobcats also had three individual top-12 medalists — Ryan Schmit was the runner-up with a 1-over 73, Eli Polley scored a 75 in fourth place and Jacob Thiessen was 11th with an 82.

“I wouldn’t want to do this with any other team,” Schmit said. “High school golf has been a great experience for me and I’m happy for the team, this gives us a lot of momentum coming up with districts.

Brecken Payne was the other Marshalltown scorer at 83 and Ty Faltys (84) and Adam Boone (85) were close behind with their non-team-scoring rounds.

Schmit was a stroke off the par round from Alliance individual champ Jackson Kepley of Ames, but the senior closed the gap on Kepley with a 1-under back nine to folllow a 2-over start on the front.

“I left a lot of shots out there on the front,” Schmit said. “But I knew the back was a lot more scorable, so I looked at all those upcoming holes with a lot of optimism and it helped me play really, really well on the back. … I hit the driver great all day and was really solid on the par threes.”

Teeing off from No. 18, Polley started with a triple-bogey before settling in and performing well on the greens.

“I had some pars on the back and the flow of it was good,” Polley said, “and I always had every confidence with every putt I had.”

Thiessen’s putter, conversely, was not as friendly.

“It wasn’t my day on the greens,” Thiessen said. “That was a little disappointing because I was hitting the ball really well, which at least gave me the opportunity.”

All three medalists and five of the six Bobcats had lower scores on the back nine than the front on Tuesday.

“There’s some par fives you can take advantage of for some birdie looks,” Johnson said. “But overall I think the guys had a more improved mental focus throughout the back nine and kept their foot on the gas a little more.”

It was the ideal way for the Bobcats to finish going into next Monday’s district meet at Fort Dodge Country Club.

“Fort Dodge is pretty similar to out here,” Schmit said, “and everyone on varsity can put up a good score, so we just have to stay in it and repeat what we did today and if we can even play a little better, you’ll see us at state.”

For now, Marshalltown will enjoy being three-time conference champs.

“Being part of a successful, winning team is the best part of being a Marshalltown Bobcat,” Thiessen said. “Coming out as a freshman, I was able to play with guys like Grant Greazel and now Ryan all four years. It’s been fun to play under them and learn something, and getting to win is a lot of fun, too.”

Iowa Alliance Conference meet

At Des Moines

A.H. Blank Golf Course, par 72

Team Standings — 1. Marshalltown 313, 2. Ottumwa 319, 3. Ames 322, 4. Mason City 322, 5. Des Moines Roosevelt 327, 6. Fort Dodge 365, 7. Des Moines Lincoln 365, 8. Des Moines East 421, 9. Waterloo East 438, 10. Des Moines North 520.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Jackson Kepley, AMES, 72; 2. Ryan Schmit, MHS, 73; 3. Chase Thompson, OTT, 75; 4. Eli Polley, MHS, 75; 5. Drew DeGabriele, MC, 77; 6. Harrison Elliott, DMR, 78; 7. Michael Solberg-Maas, MC, 78; 8. Dominick Rath, OTT, 80; 9. Stephen Brinegar, OTT, 81; 10. Noah Honn, MC, 81.

MARSHALLTOWN (313) — Schmit 73, Polley 75, Jacob Thiessen 82, Brecken Payne 83, Ty Faltys 84, Adam Boone 85.