Drew Balta is only 18 years old, but he's been a bowler for a long time. "Ever since I could walk," he said.

He's also very good at it.

Balta was named the Iowa high school Player of the Year when he was a senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie in 2010, and he's got a bowling scholarship at William Penn University.

Bowling runs in the Balta family.

"My dad (Dan Balta) is one of the better bowlers in the Cedar Rapids area," Balta said. "He hasn't really been pushing me ever since I was little, but he was always there with a helping hand. He got me started real early."

Balta set Iowa high school records as a senior at Prairie for a two-game series (588) and per-game average (240.6). His 588 series was comprised of a 288 game and a perfect 300.

Balta is in Las Vegas with four teammates this week to compete in the 16th Annual Junior World Team Challenge at the Suncoast Hotel & Bowling Center. It's a major event with 54 teams in the Unlimited Division.

"We have a really good team," he said. "We have as good a shot as anybody to win, I think. There's probably only six or seven teams that can actually win. It's all if we click together for the first couple of days."

The tournament runs from Thursday through Sunday, with qualifying rounds, semifinals and finals.

Two of Balta's teammates from William Penn, Nick Atkinson and Sean Rangel, are on the team for Vegas. They also have A.J. Chapman, a top bowler from West Delaware High School, and Kaitlin Mayall, an outstanding female bowler at Webber International University in Florida.

"She's pretty stellar," Balta said.

They call themselves Team Kegel.

Balta was a freshman at William Penn this past year. He averaged 194.3 pins per game, which was fifth-best on the squad. He's also an accomplished trumpet player and is pursuing a Music Education major in college.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Drew Balta is a baseball correspondent for the Metro Sports Report).