Palmetto’s Evan Viener, Krop’s Thalia Nelson repeat as Dade Bowlers of the Year

Palmetto’s Evan Viener and Dr. Krop’s Thalia Nelson picked up right where they left off last season. They were the top high school bowlers in Miami-Dade this season and the only two to advance out of the qualifying session at the state championship.

As a result, Viener and Nelson are repeating as the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Bowlers of the Year.

Viener, a junior, finished fifth in the boys’ qualifying session at Orlando’s Boardwalk Entertainment Center with a four-game score of 935 to advance to the 16-person, double-elimination individual final. He won his first-round matchup against Palm Bay Heritage’s Kevin Brown before falling in the next two rounds for a third-round exit.

Last year, Viener was the top individual qualifier but was also eliminated in the third round of the individual bracket.

“It was more of a mental challenge preparing to go to states,” said Viener, who advanced to state as the District 17 individual champion. “I couldn’t be cocky. I couldn’t be too nervous to go there. Stay neutral. Stay focused. The most important thing when I’m in that building is to have fun and not try too hard because I don’t want to overthink something.”

Nelson, meanwhile, advanced through qualifying on the girls’ side with a 13th-place finish. It was a dramatic improvement over her effort at state last season, when she finished tied for 56th in the four-game qualifying session. Nelson went 0-2 in the individual bracket.

Her performance helped Krop finish tied for 19th as a team, 34 pins shy of qualifying for the team final bracket.

“I felt more comfortable this time around,” said Nelson, a senior. “Definitely more calm.”