Braylon Stockwell (left) and Adrian Bush

The countdown of Norwalk’s top 10 sports stories of the 2023-2024 school year begins today with number 10: senior Adrian Bush and junior Braylon Stockwell qualifying for the Class 2A Boys State Tennis Tournament in doubles play.

Competing as doubles partners for the first time this past spring, Bush and Stockwell helped the Warriors to a 6-3 dual record and a second-place team finish in the Little Hawkeye Conference. Bush and Stockwell placed third in Flight 1 doubles at the conference meet, then placed second in the 2A District Tournament held on their home courts. They clinched their state tourney berth with a hard-fought semifinal victory over a team from Des Moines Roosevelt, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. They played another three-setter in the district finals, this time falling to a team from Roosevelt.

Bush tells KNIA Sports that he and Stockwell knew they had a chance to make state and were thrilled to finish the season playing in Iowa City. “The match to get to state was crazy,” he said. “We were down to our last life. They had two match points and we were able to fight those off and then win in the third set, so it was a great time. Probably the best match I’ve ever been a part of.”

Bush and Stockwell lost a pair of matches in straight sets at the state tournament, facing teams from Linn-Mar and Pleasant Valley. They finished the season with a doubles record of 10 wins and six defeats.