But when it comes to Olivia Wise and Nevaeh Gonzales, MHS head coach Isaiah Cox chose optimism at the end of Thursday’s Class 2A session at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.

“I’m smiling as a coach, because I know their potential, their effort, it’s all there,” Cox said. “I know they want to be better and I know they’re going to be better.”

Wise and Gonzales both went 0-2 in their first appearances at state at 190 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.

The Bobcats had an opportunity to do a walkthrough through the empty arena on Wednesday to get a feel for the atmosphere, but Wise said it felt different this morning.

“Going from that to this morning, it was crazy and fun and cool,” Wise said. “All the spotlights are on us.”

Wise was pinned in both of her matches — Southeast Polk’s Josie Bishop pinned Wise in 1 minute, 16 seconds in the first round and Bishop has since advanced to the semifinals.

In the first-round consolation match, Aliya Phillips of Cedar Rapids Prairie pinned Wise in the early going of the second period to end Wise’s tournament.

“This showed me that there are some really good girls out there that you can still wrestle hard,” Wise said. “You just need to keep that pace up so we can be just like that next year.”

Gonzales’ first-round opponent was a familiar Iowa Alliance foe in Mason City’s Aniyah Smith, who pinned Gonzales 1:23 into the first period.

For her first consolation match, she had a battle with Dallas Center-Grimes’ Aubrey Borcherding but came up short by a 12-10 decision. Borcherding led 12-5 after two periods but Gonzales opened the third period with a takedown and received two stalling points but couldn’t turn Borcherding in time.

“I was definitely scared about all the people watching me,” Gonzales said. “This just shows that I have to keep pushing myself more, and keep going even when I’m tired.”

Both Bobcats appreciated the opportunity to continue Marshalltown’s representation at the state tourney.

“My family’s definitely been super hyper about me going to state,” Gonzales said. “My teachers and classmates, too, like walking into Spanish class and me and Olivia’s picture is right there on the whiteboard.”

Three months ago, Wise and Gonzales came in fresh and worked their way to being state qualifiers.

And the discussion has already started on work for the offseason to build on this foundation.

“They did this in three months,” Cox said. “Now watch what we can do with a whole year. I’m proud of them, I’m proud of the effort and I’m so excited for the future of Marshalltown girls wrestling. I just feel like we’re going to skyrocket.”