And I'm Autumn Thompson! You're listening to the "Bear Facts," and today we're starting our 9th season here on KLGA, bringing you all the latest news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Although they didn't enjoy the state success they had the previous year, this was a wonderful summer for the Golden Bear baseball team. The entire Garrigan starting line-up received All North Central Conference honors. Graduating seniors John Mosbach and P.J. Vaske were honorable mentions, as were new seniors Chase Johnson and Steven Courtney. Second team honors went to graduate Sam Lickteig and seniors Scott McGuire and Ben Lickteig. Making the first team all conference were senior Brad Nelson and junior Jeff Vaske.
Brad, Jeff, Ben, and Scott were also named All-District players. Scott, Jeff, and Ben received honorable mentions in the Iowa Newspaper Association All-State poll, while Brad Nelson made the first team all-state in both the Coaches' Association and the INA polls.
This summer's team didn't set any season records, but they did break several career records. There's no challenging Brad Nelson in the hitting stats. He's the all-time leader all around the bases--with the career records for hits, doubles, triples, home runs, and runs scored. The only on-base record he doesn't hold is for walks or being hit by pitches, which his teammate Sam Lickteig broke this summer. John Mosbach broke the career record for stolen bases, and junior first baseman Mark Meister now holds the all-time record for fielding percentage by an infielder.
The Bears finished the season with a 25 and 11 record. They had 12 wins and just 6 losses in the North Central Conference. While they didn't advance in play-offs, they continued the tradition of a great program. Congratulations to Coaches Gene Meister, Rob Meister, and John Bartolo--and the whole Golden Bear baseball team.
Of all the teams in the area, none advanced further in play-offs than the Golden Bear softball team. The girls are the 2000 district champions, thanks to big play-off wins over Graettinger and Lakeland. Sara Reding and Jamie Loebig were named MVPs of this year's Golden Bear softball team.
Sara was named to the second team all-conference, while Jamie and fellow senior Molly Meyer earned all-conference honorable mentions. Jamie and Sara took the team MVP honors, and Sara was named offensive player of the year. Molly and fellow senior Sara Seeley were named the top defensive players, while Lisa Arndorfer was the most improved player. Graduates Nicole Erpelding and Corrie Stetzel received the dedication award, Kelly Kunkel and Stephanie Hilbert received the coaches' appreciation award, and sophomores Lisa Even and Janel Richter were named the top varsity newcomers.
Kelly Kunkel was the Bears' top pitcher, with 6 wins on the season. Lisa Even and Sara Reding had the top batting averages. Molly Meyer slammed the Bears' lone home run, and she and Lisa Even both managed to hit a triple. Lisa Even and Sara Seeley led the team in stolen bases, while the patient Jamie Loebig earned more walks than anybody else. Congratulations to Coaches Giles Struck, Greg Ahlers, and Katie Reding, and to the district champion Golden Bears.
Summer's over, and it's time again for fall sports. This year's Golden Bear cross-country team has lots of talent. On the girls' side, returning seniors Heather Stence, Angie Kohlhaas, and Marian Studer will be leading the team, backed up by juniors Teresa McGuire, Melissa Lancaster, and Cathy Hellman. The boys' team features exchange students Oliver Hoffman from Germany and Dae Sohn Lee from Siberia. Among the speediest runners on the boys' side is Matt Studer, who won his first varsity medal last Tuesday, fellow sophomore Jeff Hellman, and juniors Jason Walker and Greg Fowler. Senior Tony Schmitt, junior Michael Loebach, sophomore David Murphy, and freshmen John Kohlhaas, Mason Elbert, Tyler Rolling, and T.J. Buscher round out the team. Good luck to Coaches Kohlhaas and Ahlers and the Bishop Garrigan cross-country team.
This should be another awesome year for Golden Bear football. This year's team includes twenty-two upperclassmen who are veterans of last year's state championship game. Returning seniors include kicker Chad Mescher; running backs Hank Greer and Nick Even; linesmen Paul Loebach, Chris Thilges, Tim Kohlhaas, Greg Besch, Andy Pierson, Jake Rahm, and Dan Besch; and wide receivers Shannon Hall and Ben Richter. Seniors Chase Johnson and Ben Lickteig are new to the squad this year.
Junior quarterback Andy Kardoes will be running the offense for the Bears this fall. Other key juniors are defensive back Luke DeWaard, tight end Andy Meyer, and linesmen Kyle Wieland and Scot Miller. Other juniors on the Golden Bear football team include Mark Rasmussen, Brian Welp, Matt Golwitzer, Tony Detrick, Chuck Bormann, and Adam Rahm. Rounding out the squad are the sophomores--including Josh Hellman, Eric Fouarge, Zac Lickteig, Lee Elbert, and Justin Fickbohm. The other sophomores are Mark Kohlhaas, Mark Steier, Zach Rogers, Tony Hilbert, Shannon DeVries, Mark McGregor, Jerry Kohlhaas, and Joe Hellman. Good luck to Coach Wadle and all the Golden Bears. Let's go all the way again!
An ongoing feature of the "Bear Facts" is the Senior Spotlights that we feature each week. For the past eight years we've started the season by introducing our student council presidents. We'll keep up that tradition today with our featured seniors--Brad Nelson and Scott McGuire.
If you ever read the sports page, you've almost certainly heard of Brad Nelson. Brad holds almost every baseball and basketball record at Garrigan, and he's had major league scouts looking at him since he was a freshman. Brad also helps organize Garrigan's intramural basketball program. Away from sports he's in quiz bowl, and he's lead his class on student council all four years. We wish Brad the very best in his career.
Scott McGuire is this year's other student council co-president. Scott's activities include basketball, baseball, golf, publications, student council, and quiz bowl. He enjoys classes like Math V, but he's not as big a fan of Spanish. Scott would like to play sports in college, and he's looking at a major in business. Good luck, Scott!
Our first Golden Bear calendar for the year starts this morning, with volleyball at Algona High. Monday is Labor Day, so there's no school. Then on Tuesday there's freshman football at North Kossuth and cross-country at Estherville.
Wednesday the volleyball team hosts Hampton-Dumont. Thursday student council meets, and that night there's a confirmation meeting for juniors and their parents. Then next Friday the Bears take on the Bulldogs for this year's football bragging rights.
Finally this week, it's calendar time at Garrigan. For just $25, you can buy a calendar loaded with pictures and school events. Each calendar gives you 365 chances to win big cash prizes. The smallest prize is $35, and you could win up to $500. So be sure to contact your favorite Golden Bear and buy your Garrigan calendar now.
That's our first "Bear Facts" for the 2000-2001 school year. We'll be back next week and every Saturday, bringing you all the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
