The Bobcats were perfect at 5-0, with wins over Waterloo Columbus (72-11), West Fork (60-24), South Hardin-BCLUW (60-24), BGM (60-18) and Knoxville (48-36). SH-BCLUW finished fifth with a 1-4 performance.

“All throughout the day, it got a little bit harder,” MHS head coach Isaiah Cox said. “First one was easy, then a little harder, a little harder, and by that fifth one we all had to come together. That’s what I’ve been waiting to see, when it’s a big moment, how are they going to react? And they all came together and showed it, and it was awesome.”

In the final round of the round-robin tournament, both MHS and Knoxville came in with pristine records on the day at 4-0.

While Marshalltown had the upper hand with a full lineup, earning them three forfeits, the Panthers were dangerous in the head-to-head bouts, and had the dual tied at 36-all with two matches remaining.

Nintee Tarr stepped up at 140 pounds with a second-period pinfall victory, which regardless of the final match’s result would’ve clinched the dual for the Bobcats on tiebreaker criteria.

MHS didn’t even need to factor that in when Addyson Lovelace provided the exclamation point for the Bobcats with an emotional final win in the 145-pound finale.

Lovelace gave up the first takedown, then hit a reversal and turned her opponent for a big win as the Bobcat bench exploded with joy.

“She came in today feeling sick and just fought the whole day,” Cox said. “She just upped the level today and didn’t give up, just kept fighting to the end.”

Genevieve Lantigua, Olivia Wise, and Patricia Mateo Merita added pinfall victories for the Bobcats against Knoxville; Natalie Nickey, Allanna Robinson and Adele Beek all won via forfeit.

Saturday’s action kicked off with a win over a tough, but short-handed Waterloo Columbus team that won two of three head-to-head matches with the Bobcats but gave up 11 forfeits. Ava Kusserow won her match via medical forfeit.

The win over West Fork featured wins by Leah Graves, Tarr, and Lovelace, all by pinfall, as well as seven forfeits. In the dual with South Hardin-BCLUW, Tarr, Lantigua, and Madylin McDonald won by fall. Lovelace, Mateo Merita and Ella DeMonte were head-to-head winners in the dual with BGM.

“Patty’s got a lot of fight in her,” Cox said of Patricia Mateo Merita. “I couldn’t have asked for a better show for our girls, they came out and fought hard.”

MHS heads to Mason City on Monday and then goes to an Ankeny tournament on Friday.

“This is about confidence for the girls where if we get in those tight situations, we can prevail, we don’t have to fold,” Cox said. “Addy almost gets pinned, fights off her back, gets the pin. That’s what we’re talking about, fighting to that last whistle.”

SH-BCLUW’s lone win came against Waterloo Columbus, 42-6. The Storm fell short against West Fork (30-24), Knoxville (42-30) and BGM (36-18) on Saturday in addition to the defeat against Marshalltown.

Taya Hollingsworth and Kaitlynn Dickes were the only two to go 5-0 for the Storm, with each scoring two head-to-head wins as well as three forfeits. Ceanna White had two head-to-head wins and Cheyenne Simmons, Kaelyn Dixon and Sisse Levison all had one win each for SH-BCLUW.

Allie Morrison Duals

Team Standings — 1. Marshalltown, 2. Knoxville, 3. West Fork, 4. BGM, 5. South Hardin-BCLUW, 6. Waterloo Columbus.

Round 1

Marshalltown 72, Waterloo Columbus 11

Knoxville 60, BGM 18

West Fork 30, South Hardin-BCLUW 24

Round 2

Marshalltown 60, West Fork 24

Knoxville 42, South Hardin-BCLUW 30

BGM 36, Waterloo Columbus 6

Round 3

Marshalltown 60, South Hardin-BCLUW 24

Knoxville 66, Waterloo Columbus 6

West Fork 42, BGM 24

Round 4

Marshalltown 60, BGM 18

Knoxville 48, West Fork 24

South Hardin-BCLUW 42, W’loo Columbus 6

Round 5

Marshalltown 48, Knoxville 36

BGM 36, South Hardin-BCLUW 18

West Fork 42, Waterloo Columbus 6