Sophomore Julia Palen and senior Emerson Fels will represent Norwalk in today’s Class 2A Girls and Boys Individual State Bowling Tournament at Maple Lanes in Waterloo. The tournament was postponed due to winter weather conditions on Wednesday and then pushed back two hours to an 11:00 a.m. start time today.

The Warrior bowlers advanced to state by placing in the top eight of last week’s State Qualifying Meet at Newton. Palen rolled a three-game series of 471 for the 14th-best score among 32 individual girls state qualifiers. Fels finished strong with a 243 game to notch the 23rd-best qualifying series among the boys with a 580.

In each state meet, the 32 qualifiers will bowl a three-game series. The top eight individuals will advance to the bracket round and be seeded one through eight. Head-to-head competition will lead to the semifinals and eventually the finals for 1st-4th place.

Palen is the first Norwalk girl in school history to qualify for state bowling and Fels is the Warrior boys’ first state qualifier since 2010. Both bowlers tell KNIA-KRLS Sports that they are honored and excited to represent Norwalk on the sport’s biggest prep stage.

Palen and Fels are coached by Russell Greenwood.