T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown’s girls’ wrestling team hosts a quadrangular meet tonight at 6 p.m. at the Roundhouse. The Bobcats’ starting lineup includes: front row (from left) Madylin McDonald, Ava Kusserow, Julietza Ruiz, Gabby Mateo Merida and Maelee Corona; back row: Mariah Hernandez, Kaylee Krueger, Allanna Robinson, Morgan Million, Genevieve Lantigua, Addyson Lovelace, Natalie Nickey and Adele Beek.

Isaiah Cox hit the ground running when he arrived at Marshalltown High School, recruiting every girl he could to take up wrestling.

Now he’s got to equip his recruits with the basic fundamentals of the sport in hopes that they have some success and stick with it throughout their prep careers.

Cox moved to Marshalltown from Ottumwa, where he helped get the girls’ wrestling program off the ground. Now he’s at the helm of a Bobcat squad that has 36 participants, up from 21 a year ago, in hopes of continually growing the sport.

“I want to build the numbers,” said Cox. “Right now we’ve got 36 girls out, which is a great start. We’ve got a lot of new girls and we’re slowly getting everybody developed and showing them what wrestling is about and getting them up to speed. It’s a lot of basic stuff they’re learning and we’re trying to get that stuff down pat.

“It’s small victories. Nothing is going to be easy. We’ve got a lot of new people so we’ve got to be patient.”

Cox inherits a program that celebrated its first state qualifier a year ago when then-junior Genevieve “Gigi” Lantigua advanced to state as the fourth-place finisher in her regional bracket. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has since expanded the state tournament to two classes, meaning twice as many girls can qualify for state.

Cox said those opportunities are out there for his Bobcats, but he constantly reminds them of the idiom that suggests “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

“You can’t rush something like this,” he said. “We want to make wrestling fun and interesting and challenge the girls, make them competitors.”

Cox coached five girls from Ottumwa to state last winter, so he knows what it takes. He says Marshalltown has the makings of a strong girls’ wrestling program, as long as the numbers stay up and the wrestlers return and learn year after year.

They can start by learning from Lantigua, one of the seven seniors in the wrestling room at MHS.

“She has that chip on her shoulder, so to speak, because she’s been there and experienced state already,” Cox said, “but that still doesn’t set her apart from other girls. She still has things to learn and things to improve on. It’s also important that she’s elevating the other girls, lifting them up and making them want to go to state.”

Lantigua finished last season with a 13-10 record after going 0-2 at 170 pounds in the Bobcats’ state tournament debut. She’s off to a 5-2 start this season at 155 pounds after a dual tournament in Nevada and an invitational at Urbandale.

Cox has high hopes for what he calls his core group, consisting of Lantigua, Addyson Lovelace, Ava Kusserow, Madylin McDonald and Nintee Tarr.

“They have a good understanding of how to do moves,” he said. “They’re ahead of the curve.”

Kusserow was 15-13 last season and off to a 4-2 start at 130 despite a nagging injury. Lovelace (4-3) was 11-17 last winter, McDonald (3-3) went 12-14, and Tarr was 22-11, finishing one spot shy of state qualification. Tarr, a sophomore, will be one to watch when she returns to the lineup in a couple weeks.

“She’s going to shock a lot of people,” Cox said. “She’s doing all the right things and I feel like she wants it. That’s a person I’m really excited for.”

Through just two meets, Cox sees immense potential in freshmen Natalie Nickey (100) and Mariah Hernandez (235).

“We went to Urbandale and there were a lot of good schools there, a lot of great competition,” Cox said. “It was good for our girls to see that it’s challenging and we’ve got to step up our game a little bit. From the first dual to then, they improved so much.”

MHS GIRLS WRESTLING

Monday, Nov. 18 at Nevada Quad, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23 at Urbandale Invite, 9 a.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 26 BENTON, BGM, WEST MARSHALL, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 5 AMES, WEST DES MOINES VALLEY, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 7 at BGM Invite, 9 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 14 at Marion Invite, 9 a.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19 at Ottumwa, with Cedar Rapids Xavier, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 21 at Boone Tournament, 9 a.m.

Thursday, Jan. 9 at Des Moines East, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 11 BOBCAT INVITE, 10 a.m. MHS Auxiliary Gym

(BGM, Knoxville, Waterloo Columbus, West Fork)

Monday, Jan. 13 at Mason City, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 17 at Ankeny Invite, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Iowa Alliance Conference Invite, 5 p.m. Des Moines East

Thursday, Jan. 23 FORT DODGE, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31 at Regionals, TBD

Feb. 6-7 State Tournament