Good morning! I'm Jenessa McGuire!
And I'm Dennis Gisch! Welcome to the 175th episode of the "Bear Facts", where for the past five years we've been bringing you the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Last week we said farewell to the BGHS Class of 1997. There were many different awards given out at baccalaureate and commencement. Among them were awards given out by area newspapers and TV stations. The Des Moines Register recognized Jennifer Lighter as one of the top ten students in northwest Iowa on their Academic All-State team. Both Jen and Maggie Nelson were cited for academic excellence by Algona Publishing, while the Mason City Globe-Gazette recognized those two and also Jamie Weydert, Jim Weber, Scott McMahon, and Brian Barth. Finally KIMT, Channel 3 from Mason City recognized Cindy Bormann and Kristy Frideres as Academic All-Stars.
Each department at BGHS gives out awards at graduation. This year Jim Weber won the art and choir awards, while Dee Kellner and Jamie Weydert were honored in business. Danielle Elbert won awards in home ec and religion, and Jen Lighter earned honors from theology, journalism, math, science, and the gifted and talented program. Brian Barth and Scott McMahon were honored in drama, and Brian also received an award in social studies. Cindy Bormann and Mark DeLange won speech awards, with Mark also taking an honor in band and Cindy winning in science. The foreign language awards went to Kristy Frideres and Maggie Nelson.
Among the other big honors at graduation, Magie Nelson won the D.A.R. Award for dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism. The Iowa Bar Association award went to both Maggie and Scott McMahon. Zeb Besch was honored with the Rotary's Service Above Self Award, while Amy Schiltz received the prestigious Bausch and Lomb Science Award. In addition to these awards, more than thirty students received a variety of different scholarships at graduation.
Baccalaureate is also the time when the biggest athletic awards are announced. This year Chris Eischen, Darci Kohlhaas, and Amy Schiltz won the G-Club Award, while Matt Molacek and Jill Rosenmeyer were the Pride Club winners. Eric Scobba and Maggie Nelson were named for the top Garrigan Athlete and Student Award, while Maggie and Matt Molacek won the Army Reserve Scholar/Athlete Award. Cory Mescher won the Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award, and Dennis Becker and Katie Seiler were named the school's Athletes of the Year by the Mason City Globe-Gazette.
The loudest applause at graduation came for an award that isn't given out very often. You could call Dee Kellner the Cal Ripken of Garrigan. She hasn't missed a day of school in 2,340 days, and at graduation she received a special certificate for having perfect attendance every single day from kindergarten through her senior year. It's tough to go through even one year without missing a day, but Dee Kellner has been at her desk every day for the past thirteen years. That's almost unbelievable, and it's really something to be proud of. Congratulations, Dee!
The Golden Bear boys qualified three events for state at the district track meet last Saturday. Adam Sundall won the 3,200 meter run in 10 minutes, 34.87 seconds. Chris Eischen advanced in the discus with a third place personal best of 140 feet, 1 inch. The medley relay also qualified with their best time of the season. The medley includes Mike Cowan, Tom Twait, Andy Laubenthal, and Andy Vaske. As a team, the Bears were fifth out of twenty-four teams at district.
While the girls' track team won't be advancing to state, they do have a new record to boast about. At the North Central Conference meet last week, freshman Angie Froehlich set a new school and conference record in the high jump. Angie topped 5 feet, 3 inches, breaking a record that has stood for the past fifteen years. With three more years to go at Garrigan, we're all betting she'll be breaking her own mark before she's out of here. Congratulations, Angie!
Our senior spotlight is shining for the last time this week, and this time it's focusing on Dee Kellner and Kristy Frideres. Dee is the daughter of George and Sue Kellner of Bode. We already told you about her perfect attendance record. She also enjoys business classes, and she's active in large-group speech. Good luck, Dee!
Kristy Frideres is the daughter of Gary and Julie Frideres of Ottosen. She enjoys challenging classes like Math V, and next year she'll be off to UNI where she says she wants to study criminology. We wish both Kristy and Dee the very best in the future.
For the first time in ages, there's absolutely nothing on our Golden Bear calendar today, and tomorrow is an empty day too.
Monday is Memorial Day, and the Garrigan band will be playing for the ceremonies in Algona. Then on Tuesday baseball season begins, with the Bears opening at home in a double-header against West Bend/Mallard.
Tuesday is also girls' regional golf for the district-champion Bears. Then on Wednesday the baseball Bears host Estherville. Wednesday is also the day for eighth grade graduation at Seton Grade School.
Thursday the sophomores will meet to start next year's Confirmation program. Friday there's baseball at Spencer, and both Friday and Saturday is the boys' state track meet.
There's one other special note this week. The Knights of Columbus recently gave their top annual honor to Father Paul Eisele, who helps out with music at Garrigan. Congratulations, Father Eisele!
Finally, this show does mark our 175th week on KLGA, which makes almost five years of bringing you the Garrigan news. Our format has changed a bit over the years, and each year there are new voices among our announcers. We always try to keep the show fun and informative, and we'd like to thank all our listeners for helping us reach this milestone.
We'll be wrapping up the school year with one more show next week. Until then, thanks for listening. We're proud to bring you the news from Bishop Garrigan High School!