Good morning! I'm Jeff Hellman!
I'm Rosalind Kirsch!
And I'm Joe Hellman! You're listening to the "Bear Facts". This is the radio show where we keep you in touch with everything that's news at Bishop Garrigan High School.
JEFF: Last Wednesday the Golden Bear football team held their annual awards banquet. We're proud to say that this year fourteen Bears won all-district honors. On the first team all-district were linemen Greg Besch, Andy Pierson, and Paul Loebach; running-back Hank Greer; kicker Chad Mescher; linebacker Jake Rahm; and safety Shannon Hall. Seniors Chris Thilges, Ben Richter, and Tim Kohlhaas, and junior Luke DeWaard were named to the second team all-district. In addition seniors Nick even and Ben Lickteig and junior Andy Kardoes received all-district honorable mentions; while Nick Even, Ben Lickteig, Chris Thilges, Paul Loebach, and Ben Richter all received academic all-district honors.
The Bears set eight school records this year-including scoring 400 points on the season, gaining 548 yards in a game, and rushing for 478 yards in a game. Hank Greer scored 26 touchdowns in 2000, and he had a 68-yard punt return-the longest in school history. Chad Mescher shattered the season and career kicking records-with more than three-fourths of his extra point attempts being good.
Ben Richter was named the football team's defensive player of the year, while Hank Greer captured offensive player of the year honors. Chad Mescher was the special teams player of the year, and Zac Lickteig earned Scout Team honors. Paul Loebach was the most improved offensive player; and Jake Rahm, Shannon Hall, and Scot Miller were named most improved on defense. The Bill Higgins trophy went to Greg Besch and Andy Pierson, and Dan Besch received the Dennis Cruise Memorial Award. Ben Lickteig and Nick Even shared the Larry Weir Award for Scholastic Achievement; Tim Kohlhaas and Chris Thilges split the DEFENSE Award; and the Bears named Hank Greer their 2000 MVP.
The BGHS choir has been working hard to prepare for next month's Madrigal Dinner. The madrigal is a semi-annual event that celebrates the spirit of the holidays in the tradition of medieval England. At the center of things are the king and queen, who this year are Andrew Hellman and Angie Kohlhaas. Puppeteers will be an important part of the show, too. They include seniors Lynn Kohlhaas and Tony Schmitt; junior Bridget Buscherfeld; and sophomores Rachel Foth, Kim Frideres, Rosalind Kirsch, Andrea Schiltz, and Amanda Wolf.
Ashley Arndorfer, Jenna Becker, and Stephanie Hilbert are witches, while Krshar Nadkarni and Sarah Schmitt are travelling wenches. Among the other members of the madrigal royal court are seniors Amanda Freking, Kelly Kohlhaas, Paul Lebach, Ellie Reising, and Marian Studer; juniors Cathy Hellman, Chris Kohlhaas, Rebecca McGuire, Adam Rahm, and Mandy Rahm; sophomores Jeff Hellman, Steven Kellner, and David Murphy; and freshman John Kohlhaas. The madrigal will be Sunday, December 17, and we know it will be a great show.
Last weekend six members of the BGHS danz squad competed at the state individual drill team competition. Kelly Kunkel and Nikki Loebig were ranked among the top ten girls in the competition. In addition, Maria Erpelding and Monica Studer received Division I ratings for their routines. Heather Johnson and Allison Courtney also represented the Bears at state. Congratulations to the girls on their success, and good luck to them next month when they compete as a group at state!
The annual magazine drive ended last week, and it was very successful. All together, we sold almost $16,500 in subscriptions-which gives a profit of around $5,500 for the student council to use. Jeff Vaske was the top seller overall, with T.J. Buscher and Mark Meister following behind. The junior class ended up in first place-with the highest sales in the school. A big thanks to everyone who helped us out by supporting the Garrigan magazine drive.
This week's Senior Spotlight shines on Dan Besch and Oliver Hoffman. Dan is an Algona native who is a four-year member of the Golden Bear football team. Dan works hard in the classroom, and away from school he's active in Scouts. Dan will be off to college next year, and we wish him all the best.
Oliver Hoffman is our exchange student from Germany, who is staying with Dan and his family. Oliver speaks English better than most Americans, and he's fit in very well here at Garrigan. He takes tough classes like Math V and was out for cross-country. He'll be headed back to Germany, but for now we're glad he's here with us at Garrigan.
On our Golden Bear calendar, today is Veterans' Day. Then tomorrow American Education Week begins. Boys' basketball practice starts Monday, and Tuesday the girls' basketball team has a jamboree at Corwith.
Also on Tuesday we'll have the National Honor Society induction ceremony. Then Wednesday a third of the school will be headed to the Mall of America as one of the rewards from the calendar drive last September.
Wednesday and Thursday nights we'll have parent-teacher conferences. Then next Saturday there's a girls' basketball scrimmage at Spencer and the quiz bowl team travels to Orange City.
That's the "Bear Facts" for this week. Thanks for listening, and be sure to join us again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
