Reaching the state tournament is no longer the goal for the Marshalltown boys’ bowling team.

Winning it is.

The Bobcats lead the state in all-time appearances and have the longest streak of most consecutive appearances, which extended to 11 last winter. Marshalltown returns its entire starting lineup from a team that placed seventh in Class 3A a season ago, but bringing home a trophy just won’t cut it anymore.

“We fell short of the state championship last year,” said head coach Nate Clark. “We made it there, but we just didn’t finish at the end. It’s the same goal this year.”

Marshalltown, which ranked second in 3A in match scoring (2,886.5), came away with a seventh-place finish that disappointed a squad full of bowlers with state meet experience.

Now, anything less than the best might not be enough for a Bobcat lineup that a combined 14 state meets under its belt.

“I think this year we’re going to try even harder,” said senior Jayden Beichley. “I mean, we try hard every year, obviously. We’ll try to keep the streak of going to state going, but this year I think we’re going to try to commit more to it.”

Beichley is one of two seniors who have played in three state tournaments. Aiden Cowan was the individual state champion two seasons ago, but missed out on qualifying for last year’s individual tournament.

They’ve raised three state tournament trophies during their careers, but nothing higher than last year’s seventh-place honor.

“We briefly talked about how last year ended,” Clark said. “Everyone has the same goals. I don’t make the goals — the team makes the goals — so it’s what they want. I suggest things, but they run with whatever they want out of it.”

Last year’s season got off to a slow start, but the Bobcats definitely peaked at the right time. After going 3-2 in Iowa Alliance Conference North Division duals and finishing fifth in the Alliance Tournament, Marshalltown erupted to win its state-qualifying meet on its home lanes at Wayward Social.

The Baker game struggles that seemed to have been the Bobcats’ bugaboo last season — they ranked 13th in 3A (191.4) — caught up to Marshalltown in the state meet’s preliminary rounds.

Beichley said a better mental approach will be his focus this winter.

“With a couple meets last year, we would get down and we would just shut down,” he said. “I was a culprit of this, too, and we would stop talking, communicating, and the main difference with us between other teams is that we have a really good connection. We can all talk, we’ve known each other for so long. We have a great connection and we all enjoy being around each other.”

Clark said the squad is off to a good start on the lanes, too.

“From what I’ve seen this first week in practice, we’re off to a great start,” he said. “We’re way better than we were last year.

“Everyone knows the expectation: be positive and encourage others around you.”

Marshalltown’s varsity lineup this season will feature five seniors — all with state meet experience — and one junior. Beichley and Cowan are joined as upperclassmen by Gage Grieves, Carter McCready and Porter Niedermann, while Cayden Slifer is a junior. Sophomore Korben McKibben garnered a bit of varsity experience last season as well.

Cowan led the Bobcats with a scoring average of 206.1 pins last year, ranking 23rd among 3A bowlers. Beichley (198.1), Grieves (196.4), McCready (189.8), Niedermann (179.9) and Slifer (168.3) rounded out a roster that has the potential to climb closer to the program’s first state title since 2021.

“I want to try to keep it fun because I’ve been in sports where everyone’s constantly saying ‘oh, we can always do better,’ Beichley said. “So I try to keep it as fun as we can while also trying to motivate others to do better. Even if it doesn’t so much look like I’m motivating them, I try to at least bring them up when they’re done.

“I know that a good attitude won’t just get us to state, but I think that’s a crucial part of it.”

The Bobcats open with Tuesday’s home meet against defending Alliance North Division champion Waterloo East.