The Norwin bowling program is in just its second year of operation, but the talented boys rollers proved last week that they are experienced well beyond their years.
The boys team qualified for the WPIBL postseason after a 9-1 mark in the East Division, good enough for a section title.
The Knights had a first-round bye and competed in the WPIAL championships on Thursday.
Norwin placed sixth out of 12 teams at the event with a three-game team score of 2,920.
"Being their first opportunity to bowl as a team at this level of competition, I think they did well," coach Diane Jones said.
"As always, spare shooting was critical, along with being able to adjust to changing lane conditions. Each team had to change lanes after each game, which made it more of a challenge to adjust quickly. It was a valuable experience for each bowler."
Woodland Hills won the team title with a score of 3,154, followed by Hempfield, Chartiers Valley, East Allegheny and Beaver Falls.
Hempfield won the WPIBL girls title by edging Greensburg Salem, Plum, Baldwin, Penn Hills and East Allegheny.
In the finals, the Norwin boys were led by senior Mike Simko, who threw a three-game series of 627, which included games of 196, 259 and 172.
Also rolling for the Knights were senior Steven Romanchak (202, 245, 192), sophomore Greg Monda (214, 192, 160), junior Jon Stump (183, 211, 161) and junior Ray Traill (170, 168, 195).
In addition to Jones, the Knights are coached by Stan Smolnicky, Sandy Moses and Brian Kolar. Jones also praised the work of the booster program, especially Rita Simko and Lisa Romanchak.
Next up for the Norwin bowling teams will be a trip to the Western Pennsylvania Regional Championships in Erie, from Friday to Sunday.
The boys team will compete at Rolling Meadow Lanes against other WPIBL teams and those from the Western Region.
At the same time, there will be a regional singles qualifier at Westway Lanes in Girard. Competing for Norwin will be Monda, Stump, Traill, Simko, Romanchak, sophomore Rychelle Moses and senior Tiffany Rudy.
"I would hope the team goes into the weekend focused, ready to bowl well and, most importantly, have fun," Jones said.
All of the bowlers will throw three games in each of the first two days. On Saturday night, the top five individuals will roll off to get a regional champ. Then on Sunday, the top five teams will compete for a regional title.
The top 12 individuals and top six teams will advance to the state championships in Altoona on March 14 and 15.