Good morning! I'm Michaela Mescher!
And I'm Cassie Recker! Welcome to a special edition of the "Bear Facts", where we're celebrating the success of our cross-country runners at Bishop Garrigan High School.
About fifteen minutes from now, the Golden Bear cross-country team will be leaving for the state cross-country meet. They'll be leaving from Meister Drive, and we encourage everyone to head on out to Garrigan to see them off. The Bears will be running at Kennedy Park just north of Ft. Dodge. The race begins at 2:30 this afternoon. Admission is free, so be sure to head down south to cheer on the Bears.
The Bears are finishing up their best season in history. The team took home the championship trophies from five different meets this year. In addition to that team success, individual runners have medalled at meets forty-one different times this year. Over the course of the season the Golden Bears have beat 140 other teams, while losing to only 14, all but two of which were from larger classes.
Senior John Kohlhaas is the leader at the core of this year's cross-country team. Eric Cassmann is the other senior veteran. The top runner in most races this year has been sophomore Brandon Rowley. Junior Matt Courtney, sophomores Seth Rogers and Jacob Hellman, and freshman Chris Scobba will round out the group running at state. All these runners have run personal best times this year, and Scobba broke the school's freshman record. As a team, they're the most consistent group Garrigan has ever had, with all the runners finishing well all season long.
When asked about the team's chances at state, captain John Kohlhaas said he hoped to finish in the top five. Other top teams in the state include Bellvue Marquette, Midland-Wyoming, Iowa City Regina, Corning, and South Winnesheik. Garrigan is rated sixth in statewide polls, but they're hoping they can move up a slot or two at state. Good luck to the boys this afternoon!
In spite of a lot of sickness and injuries, the girls cross-country team also had a great season. They won the Clear Lake invitational, with the best team score in school history. They also finished fourth at CYO and came within just 30 points of qualifying for state along with the boys. Congratulations on a great season to the Golden Bear girls!
Garrigan has a long tradition of success in cross-country. The school's best-known runner was the late Adam Sundall, who set the state record in cross-country. Adam was one of eight Golden Bears who ran at the college level in recent years. Others who continued their running careers after high school include Brad Frideres, Doug Besch, Ruby Bode, Marian Studer, Trenton Rolling, Jenessa McGuire, and Jeff Hellman.
Also today three members of the Golden Bear danz squad are in Pella for the state solo dance competition. Maria Erpelding, Nicole Krieps, and Jessica Cink will be competing individually against the top dancers from all over the country. We'll fill you in on how they did on next week's show.
The Garrigan magazine drive is well underway. Students will be selling magazine subscriptions through next Wednesday. Prices are the same or lower than you'll find with other offers, and when you renew through the school, 40% of every dollar you spend stays right here to help support school activities. Be sure to renew your magazine subscriptions through Garrigan today.
Next Friday and Saturday the curtain goes up on the BGHS fall play. Thirteen Past Midnight is a murder mystery set in the world of television. Cast members include Rose Mayer, Jacob Hellman, Ashley Waller, Samantha Kirsch, Brooke Myers, Jesse Bode, and Katelyn Besch. Also starring in the play are Amanda Thompson, Josh Broesder, Lindsey Becker, Scott Stence, Alissa McGuire, Brandon Rowley, John Kohlhaas, Amber Golwitzer, and Eric Cassmann. Showtime is next Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students, so be sure to get yours today.
The 2003 yearbooks are here! Miss McCall and the publications staff worked hard to get their deadlines met, and the new yearbooks are finally back from the printers. Something new this year are black endpapers where people can use gel pens to sign each other's autographs. Lisa Thilges, Ashley Berte, and Jenna Kollasch are publications editors this year. In addition to the Garrigold yearbook, they also work to produce the monthly Paw Prints, which appears in the Algona newspaper.
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Cassie Recker. Here to tell you about her is Nettie McGuire.
Cassie Recker has been captain of both the JV and varsity cheerleading squads. She's both a basketball and football cheerleader. Cassie is also a four-year member of the speech team. She enjoys math classes, but she's not a big fan of Spanish. Cassie plans to attend the University of Iowa next year, and we wish her all the best.
Thanks, Katie! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there's the state cross-country meet today in Ft. Dodge. Also today there's state solo dance in Pella.
Tomorrow the volleyball team and the football cheerleaders will hold their award potlucks. The magazine drive continues next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Next Friday the health occupations students will be taking a field trip. That night is opening night for the BGHS fall play. Then next Saturday the quiz bowl team plays at Algona High.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
