The Norwalk boys cross country team opened the season with an impressive first-place showing in Ames on Thursday. The Warrior girls cross country squad finished 10th at Ames and the volleyball team went 5-0 at the ADM Tournament.

Cross Country

Ranked fifth in Class 4A, the Warrior cross country boys showcased a deep varsity lineup to post a winning score of 104 at the Kirk Schmaltz Invite. The 13-team meet was held at the Iowa State University Cross Country Course. Norwalk outscored a pair of teams ranked ahead of them in No. 3 Ankeny and No. 4 Waukee Northwest. Ankeny Centennial placed second with a score of 119.

The Warriors won the meet despite not having a top-10 finisher. Junior Teegan Kralik led the pack with a 12th-place time of 15:44 and senior Tony Anania was 14th in 15:49. Grant Wallace came in 20th and Sam Parker was 26th.

The Norwalk girls finished 10th out of 12 teams with a score of 243, led by a pair of freshmen runners. Olive DeRocher placed 33rd in 20:07, Gabby Drymon placed 41st and junior Pearl Brown was 45th.

The Warrior cross country teams return to action next Thursday at the Marshalltown Bobcat Invite.

Volleyball

The Class 4A 8th-ranked Norwalk volleyball team rallied in their final set of the night to win the ADM Tournament with a 5-0 record. The Warriors scored two-set victories against Gilbert (21-17, 21-15), Nevada (21-18, 23-21), Woodward-Granger (21-8, 21-4) and West Marshall (21-15, 21-10), then rallied past the host Tigers 18-21, 21-10, 15-13.

According to head coach John Fulton, Norwalk trailed ADM 9-4 in the third set before finishing on an 11-4 surge. Fulton tells KNIA Sports that the Warriors played through some fatigue and battled all night, showing some true grit against ADM.

Norwalk has already played 16 matches during the first two weeks of the season and now stands 11-5 overall. The Warriors return to Little Hawkeye Conference play on Tuesday night at Class 5A fifth-ranked Indianola.