Norwalk’s Top 10 list of sports stories from the past school year has reached the Top 5, but today we pause to recognize some of the honorable mention moments that just missed the cut.

Despite battling key injuries and having a young team overall, the Norwalk girls soccer team finished 12-7 and reached the Class 2A regional finals before falling to top-ranked DC-G 3-0.

The Warrior boys track and field team enjoyed one of their best seasons in recent memory, breaking eight indoor and eight outdoor school records along the way. Outdoor records were set by Jacey Hutson in the 400 (49.42), Tony Anania in the 1,600 (4:28.8) and Landon Hochstein in the long jump (21-10), as well as the 4×200, 4×400, 1600 medley, 800 medley and shuttle hurdle relays. Norwalk earned medals in four events at state, led by Maddux Borcherding-Johnson’s second-place finish in the Class 4A shot put.

Also during the spring, the Norwalk girls tennis team put together an outstanding 12-1 dual season, staying undefeated until a regional final loss to West Des Moines Valley.

The Norwalk boys golf team played 10 of their 12 meets in the fall, but the top moments occurred in the spring when a pair of 18-hole school records were broken at the Oskaloosa Invite. Senior Cael Sherwood carded a record-breaking round of 66 at the Edmundson Golf Course, leading the team to a new 18-hole best of 287.

The Warrior football team posted some big offensive numbers during a 5-4 campaign last fall. Two of the leaders were senior quarterback Landon Hochstein and senior receiver Dillon Ranck. Ranck graduated as the program’s all-time leading receiver with 1,771 yards and also broke the single-game record with 219 receiving yards at Carlisle. His 903 single-season yards rank third in school history. Hochstein finished his career as the school’s second-leading all-time passer with 3,830 yards and ranks third on the single-season list with 2,143 yards as a senior.

The 2022-23 school year also saw the debut of a girls wrestling team at Norwalk. Head coach Alanah Vetterick trained a squad of 20 high school wrestlers and eight middle-schoolers.

The countdown of Norwalk’s top 10 sports stories will continue on Monday with number five.