Demitri Ferneau winds up for a throw during the 2022 Class 3A team bowling state championships in Waterloo on Wed. Feb. 23. Ferneau and the Bobcats finished as the Class 3A runner-up behind Waukee. – Photo by Noah Rohlfing

South Tama senior Demetri Ferneau has been a key component to the Marshalltown Bobcats boys bowling team roster that headed into the Class 3A state tournament on Feb. 23 looking to defend their 2021 state title.

The Bobcats ultimately finished second in the 2022 Class 3A team bowling state championships at Cadillac XBC in Waterloo, falling in the finals to Waukee in the first year of a new bracket-play format.

To get to the finals the team swept Davenport Central in the quarterfinals and Bettendorf in the semifinals.

In three games, Waukee continued its hot streak and dethroned the reigning champs with scores of 211-182, 236-209 and 233-199.

It was a disappointing end to the Bobcats’ title defense but it was also a third straight top-two finish for the group of seniors including Ferneau, Dru Wilder, Dylan Cooper, Xander Pickett and alternate Alex Thompson.

Two of the Marshalltown boys’ bowling team’s seniors decided to continue their education and athletic careers together during a signing ceremony held last month at Wayward Social in Marshalltown. Xander Pickett, seated at left, and Demitri Ferneau, right, signed their National Letters of Intent with the Upper Iowa Peacocks, an NCAA Division II school located in Fayette. Both will be members of the bowling team, coached by Nichole DePaul. Pictured with the Bobcat pair is MHS head bowling coach DJ Wilder. – Photo provided

“That’s a great group of kids,” head coach DJ Wilder said. “Those four seniors are special to me. They had a goal in mind and fell a little short, and that’s okay. Tomorrow morning the sun will come up, and we’ll be doing whatever we do after the bowling season is over.”

This season Ferneau was a team leader for the Bobcats with 4,922 total pins scored, a perfect 300 game in January and a team-high series score of 579. Ferneau plans to attend Upper Iowa next year and bowl for the Peacocks.