T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Six former Marshalltown High School bowlers signed to become part of the first Marshalltown Community College bowling teams during Monday’s ceremony at Wayward Social. Pictured in the front row are: (from left) Ariana Villagomez, Camillya Thomas, Jayden Beichley and Porter Niedermann; back row: MHS girls coach Dustin Peterson, Sydney May, Carter McCready, and MHS boys coach and MCC head coach Nate Clark.

The head coach of the newly-minted Marshalltown Community College bowling program didn’t have to look any farther than his own back yard to find the first wave of Tigers.

Nate Clark kept it in the family.

Six members of the Marshalltown High School bowling squads signed their National Letters of Intent on Monday to join Clark as the inaugural recruiting class at MCC, enriching the new local program with in-house talent. Bobcat seniors Jayden Beichley, Carter McCready and Porter Niedermann will remain under Clark’s tutelage after each played their high school days as Bobcats.

Clark, the MHS head boys bowling coach since 2022, said it was a no-brainer to start with some of the Bobcats he’s coached since they were in middle school.

“It’s cool to see them through the next level of their journey,” Clark said during Monday’s signing extravaganza at Wayward Social. “I didn’t coach the girls directly, but I’ve been around to see their progress as well.”

Marshalltown senior Ariana Villagomez, East Marshall senior Camillya Thomas and 2025 MHS graduate Sydney May all made their commitment to be part of Clark’s first MCC women’s squad, too, as Monday’s signing ceremony signaled a strong start for the Tigers’ newest endeavor under first-year athletic director Whitney Sowers.

“I think it’s kind of a vision coming to life as far as having some really, really good bowlers in the community, and it’s about how do we keep those people here instead of going somewhere else,” said Sowers, a 2011 MHS graduate. “Seeing this today is a really, really positive thing, I think, for Marshalltown, Wayward, and just everyone in the community.”

Wayward Social will remain the hometown lanes for six former Bobcats who will now mature into Tigers.

McCready is a BCLUW High School senior who qualified for the Class 3A boys state individual tournament in his finale as a Bobcat, placing 15th at the season-ending state meet in Waterloo. His senior season saw a 211.15-pin-per-game average that was third-best on the Bobcat squad that featured five seniors.

Beichley, a senior at GMG High School, averaged 216 pins per game in his last hurrah, earning second-team all-state honors along the way. Niedermann, an MHS product, posted a 206.52 average.

“This day has been going through my head for about four months now,” Clark said of the mass signing event. “Even before I took the position, it’s something I’ve been thinking about — getting these kids signed off and doing the next thing.”

Thomas became just the fifth Bobcat girl to qualify for state at the end of her senior campaign, climbing all the way to 13th place thanks to a career-high performance in the 3A finale.

Thomas was the team’s scoring leader at 157.44 pins per game, but her state showing saw a whopping 198.33 pins per game fall when she needed them to the most.

Villagomez was a two-year varsity contributor for the Bobcats, averaging 128.96 pins this past winter.

May was Marshalltown’s leading scorer during her junior campaign (142.50) and the team’s third-leading scorer in her senior season (140.96).

MHS head girls coach Dustin Peterson thinks they’ve all only scratched the surface of their potential.

“It’s really nice for them to have a place here locally to go,” Peterson said. “Sydney probably peaked a little bit early on in her bowling career, but you could tell in her senior year she was just starting to get better. Ari, you might know it by score, but she’s just leaps and bounds ahead of last year.

“We all saw what Cam can do when she puts her mind to it.”

Clark is just as excited to see so many Bobcats moving on to the next level of the sport, regardless of whether or not they’re becoming Tigers.

“My entire thing was them doing what was best for them, and it just happened to wind up this way,” he said. “They can stay home and continue their journey.”