Good morning! I’m John Mosbach!
And I’m Tyler Struck! Welcome once again to the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.
We’ve had trips to state this fall for the cross-country and football teams, and now it’s the danz squad’s turn to compete with Iowa’s best. The Bishop Garrigan Danz Squad is down in Des Moines today for the state drill team competition. The girls have been practicing long hours for the past month, and they’re ready to go today. Garrigan finished in first place at state last year, and we hope they’ll make another strong showing today.
The danz squad welcomed several new girls to the team this year. Freshmen Nikki Loebig, Sarah Schmitt, and Lindsey Eischen are among the new faces in danz squad. The sophomore team members include Stephanie Hilbert, Jamie Roethler, and Laura Seeley. Also returning from last year’s first place squad are sophomores Monica Studer and Allison Courtney; juniors Kelly Kunkel and Heather Johnson; and seniors Corrie Stetzel, Jillian Trenary, Anna Erpelding, Amanda Hilbert, Kattie Patterson, and Abby Bartolo. The squad is competing in the pom and dance/funk categories, and we wish them good luck this morning!
Another Golden Bear team is also competing this morning. The BGHS Quiz Bowl team is in action today at the Spirit Lake Invitational. Garrigan has both varsity and JV entries in the competition. Heading up the JV team is Angie Kohlhaas. Her teammates include fellow juniors Chris Missal and Lynn Kohlhaas, sophomore Rebecca McGuire, and freshman Steven Kellner. The varsity captain is senior Jennifer Reinhart. Playing along with her are sophomores Bob Brandenburg and Chris Kohlhaas and freshmen David Murphy and Eric Fouarge. Good luck to the quiz bowl team!
Basketball season is here. The Golden Bear boys started their season a week later than normal this year because the football play-offs stretched to Thanksgiving. This year’s starters include senior veterans Tyler Struck, Justin Reding, Josh Meyer, and John Mosbach—as well as junior Brad Nelson, who is starting on the varsity for the third consecutive year. Other juniors on the varsity team are Hank Greer, Ben Richter, Scott McGuire, Tim Kohlhaas, Josh Hanig, and Ben Lickteig. Good luck to all of them and to Coaches Meister and Bartolo.
There are a lot of talented players at the younger levels this year, too. The JV Bears are built around sophomores—including Mark Meister, Andy Kardoes, Joe Bartolo, Jeff Vaske, and Luke DeWaard. Also suiting JV are Scot Miller, Brian Welp, and Andy Meyer. There are also thirteen freshmen boys out for basketball this year. They include Mark Kohlhaas, Jeff Hellman, Justin Fickbohm, Drew Miller, Zac Lickteig, and Alex Vaske—as well as Joe Hellman, Matt Studer, Jerry Kohlhaas, David Murphy, Tony Hilbert, Zach Rogers, and Shannon DeVries. We wish good luck to all the Golden Bear basketball players.
When you come to see the Bears this winter, you’ll see a new look among the cheerleaders. For the first time, the Golden Bear cheerleaders include young men among their ranks. Senior football players Eric Becker, Derrick Frideres, and Dennis Gisch joined this year’s basketball cheer squad, together with sophomore Josh Dittrich. They’ll be cheering along with Janet Kramer, Jill Johnson, Jenni Erpelding, and Bridget Hellman. We asked Dennis Gisch what he liked about being a cheerleader. He said he enjoyed getting free pop at games—not to mention scoping out the cheerleaders from other schools. Best wishes to all the guys and gals who are cheering our Bears on to victory this winter.
Last Thursday the Golden Bear football team held their annual awards potluck. The Bears’ trip to the state championship game was definitely a team effort. That was clear from the fact that thirteen Bears won all-district honors this season. Linemen Jake Kohlhaas and Nick Even, running back John Mosbach, kicker Chad Mescher, and linebacker Eric Becker were all unanimous first-team selections. Hank Greer also made the first team all-district, at defensive back. Garrigan’s second team selections were Duane McGregor, Justin Frideres, Derrick Frideres, and Ben Richter. Three Golden Bears received honorable mentions. They include Joe Mayer, Matt Rahm, and Justin Reding. Congratulations to all these all-district Bears.
The Bears also had eight men on the Academic All-District team—more than any other school in the district. Eric Becker topped the list, with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Other first team all-academic players include Tyler Struck and Justin Reding. Other Golden Bears receiving academic all-district honors were Nick Roethler, John Mosbach, Matt Rahm, Jake Kohlhaas, and Justin Frideres. Congratulations to them.
With the success of their season, it’s no surprise that the Golden Bears also had some all-state football selections. Seniors John Mosbach and Eric Becker were named to the first team all state in both the Des Moines Register and the Iowa Newspaper Association selections. Three other Golden Bears also received all-state recognition. They were senior receiver Josh Meyer, junior running back Hank Greer, and sophomore quarterback Andy Kardoes. Congratulations to these Golden Bears on achieving these outstanding honors.
This week’s Senior Spotlight shines on Katie Patterson and Tony Meyer. Here to tell you about them is Ed Elbert.
Katie Patterson’s big activity is danz squad. She’s among the dancers who are down in Des Moines today for the state drill team competition. Over the years Katie has also lettered in golf, band, choir, and speech, and away from Garrigan she’s been active in the Girl Scouts. Katie will be off to college next year, and we wish her all the best.
You may remember reading a feature article about Tony Meyer in the Algona newspaper a while back. Tony is a Whittemore native who is one of Iowa’s youngest pilots. He already has accumulated a lot of flying hours, and his goal is a career in flying. Tony’s main activity at Garrigan is golf, and we wish him all the best in the future.
Thanks, Ed Elbert! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s state drill team this morning in Des Moines. Also today the quiz bowl team is competing at Spirit Lake.
Tomorrow is the second Sunday of Advent. On Monday there’s freshman basketball at Fort Dodge St. Edmond, and then on Tuesday the JV and varsity Bears host Eagle Grove.
The cross-country team will be hosting a chili supper Tuesday night at the Eagle Grove game. Be sure to stop in for a hearty supper and help support the team.
Wednesday is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We’ll have mass at Garrigan at 10:45 to celebrate the holy day. Then on Thursday we’ll dismiss at 12:45 for a faculty in-service.
Finally next Friday there’s more basketball action, as the Bears travel southeastward. The boys will be playing at Goldfield, and the girls will be in Clarion.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for another week. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to join us next week when we’ll bring you more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
