Chris Noll paced the retro patterned carpet of Peak Bowl like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

The District 11 athletic director was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Coronado, Doherty, Mitchell and Palmer's unified bowling squads, with Wednesday morning dubbed as the grand reveal.

A top priority for the district has been inclusion. Noll and company have sought ways to expand the athletic programs and activities available to suit an even bigger population of students — unified bowling being the inaugural opportunity for students with intellectually disabilities to partner with other athletes in a sanctioned sport.

As students strolled in, each adorned with their own team's unified bowling shirt, the district proudly announced its plans to have four sanctioned teams for the next Colorado High School Activities Association unified bowling season in the fall.

"I think District 11 is focused on making sure all of our kids have an avenue to be involved," Noll said. "These kids are often the forgotten group, and we wanted to be a part of changing that.

"No hurdle was going to be too big for us to make this happen."

Alongside the athletes with intellectual disabilities were some of each school's top athletes, like Palmer senior girls' basketball captain and 1,000-point club member, Alyssa Trujillo. Coronado starting quarterback Jaxon Gutowski, as well as standout Trey Alford, who has committed to play for the University of Virginia, are part of the Cougars unified bowling team.

Being part of a team is something they're all accustomed to, but is often lost within the special-needs community.

For each, it was about expanding their reach and finding ways to include more of their fellow classmates in athletics.

"I want to help my community out," Trujillo said. "Our people are important, and this gives us all a chance to interact and be together more. I love doing things like this for Palmer — I care about it a lot."

The district began to scout out schools, and more importantly personnel at each campus. The hope was to identify teachers and administrators who would work hand in hand to create multiple teams.

Originally on the search for one or two people, Noll was inundated with support from numerous people. At Wednesday's event, each team had four or more staff members helping out.

"For us, it was about finding the key person in every building," Noll said. "Instead, we found four or five in every single building. It really opened my eyes to the type of people we have in this district, and how much care there is for these kids."

The staff takes on the responsibility of overseeing the team. Athletes without intellectual disabilities are side by side with those who have disabilities, and the pair work together each turn to bowl; often, it's more about clapping and cheering than guidance.

Each team gains scores from both, and in the end, a winner is crowned. Many in attendance would tell you, right after stepping away from a riveting game of pattycake between rolls, that the smiles and togetherness are a true scoreboard.

"Everyone deserves to get support and the chance to experience what every athlete gets to," Gutowski said. "No one should be excluded from sports, and this is a great way to get more people involved."

And yet, the numbers can never be high enough.

Across the 20 lanes of Peak Bowl, nearly every screen was packed with a full team. If the partners, teachers and district involved have their way, the group of four teams will fill multiple bowling alleys at once — and expand to fields and courts, too.

Unified soccer, though not sanctioned yet, will start up for the district in the spring in either an 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 format. Basketball and volleyball are quickly approaching.

Looking down the road 10 years, everyone involved has a hope that no sport will be off-limits, even if intellectual disabilities were seen as a roadblock in the past.

Coronado, Doherty, Mitchell and Palmer are all unified; even their shirts say so.