“The Bear Facts”
Saturday, April 17, 1999
Good morning! I’m Jessica Richter!
And I’m Abby Rahm! Welcome once again to the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.
The week after Easter a large group of Garrigan students made a journey to Texas. They were members of the BGHS band and choir, who traveled to Dallas for a special music clinic with world-renowned musicians. The trip started with a seventeen-hour bus drive down Interstate 35. Once in Dallas, the group visited the Hard Rock Café, and the seniors enjoyed their room-checking responsibilities. Highlights of the trip included the J.F.K. Memorial, the Dallas Zoo and Aquarium, a Texas Rangers baseball game, and the one-hour band and choir clinic.
One of the most memorable experiences of the trip was dinner at Medieval Times, a theme dinner theatre where guests eat without silverware, in the style of the Middle Ages. According to “Bear Facts” reporter Mike Reel, the blue knight, who represented the section where the Garrigan group was eating, got ripped off in his joust. After their trip, the group narrowly missed a tornado on their way back. They returned home four hours early, because, as our reporter explained, the bus driver drove his age—that is, 90—all the way back. Everybody did mange to make it home safe and sound though, and it sounds as if most people had a pretty good time.
While the band and choir were gone, everyone else at Garrigan spent most of the week tidying things up during Stewardship Days and got ready for last weekend’s big Gala celebration. Then on Friday we all got together at the Algona YMCA for a day of fun and games. That day’s big event was the long-awaited intramural championship game, in which Jay Servantez’s team of undefeated seniors faced Eric Becker’s scrappy juniors. The game definitely lived up to its hype. It was tight from beginning to end, with six different lead changes. Both teams played hard, all-out basketball for thirty-two long minutes.
In the end it all came down to the wire. With ten seconds left on the clock, Dennis Gisch sank an NBA-length three-pointer to put the juniors ahead. The seniors had a chance to tie things up at the free throw line, but the shots just wouldn’t go down. In the end, the juniors won the thriller, 30 to 28. Junior Joe Mayer was the top scorer in the championship game, racking up 14 points for the day. He and his teammates now proudly wear their medals as a symbol upset in the championship game.
Joe also won another medal as a member of the prestigious All-Intramural Team, which was announced right after the championship. Joining him on the first team were his senior opponents Mark Anderson, Justin Roethler, and Jay Servantez The captain of the All-Intramural Team was Josh Kohlhaas, who was the top scorer overall in this year’s intramurals, draining 221 points for the season.
The second team of All-Intramuralers included senior Jake Sutter, juniors Justin Frideres, Sam Lickteig, and Chris Weir, and sophomore three-point specialist Justin Froehlich. There were also six honorable mentions on the All-Intramural Team. They included junior Eric Eischen, sophomores Greg Besch, Nick Even, and David Monson, and freshmen Adam Rahm and Kyle Wieland. All season long the varsity basketball players served as referees for intramurals. It was no surprise that sophomore Brad Nelson, who helped organize the games, was named the Outstanding Referee. Congratulations to all these All-Intramural award-winners!
Next week a rather large group of Model UN students will be travelling to Cedar Falls for the annual Model United Nations conference held at UNI. Garrigan will be representing the countries of Burkina Faso, Belize, Cambodia, he Dominican Republic, and Grenada at this year’s Model UN. The student delegates prepare by studying their countries and representing their positions on topics under consideration by the UN committees. Through this role-playing, they learn about the countries and about international diplomacy.
Twenty-eight students are involved in Model UN. The seniors include Tracey Fickbohm, Rachel Studer, Julie Henkelvig, Lisa Kollasch, and Abbey Studer. Other seniors are Phil LaFleur, Anne Smith, Heidi Pierson, Kristi Patten, Maria Loebach, and Abby Monson. Among the juniors in Model UN are Louie Bode, Brandon Donahe, Ed Elbert, Angie Weber, Tyler Struck, and Wade MacDonald.
Those juniors will be joined by their classmates Nate Frideres, Dennis Gisch, Sam Lickteig, Lynn Kohlhaas, and Melaney Johnson. Also making the trip to Cedar Falls are sophomores Amanda Freking, Marian Studer, and Andrew Hellman; and freshmen Rebecca McGuire and Bob Brandenburg. They’ll all be leaving next Thursday, and we wish them well as they explore global relations!
This week’s Senior Spotlight shines on Josh Kohlhaas and Libby Wingert. Here to tell you about them is John Mosbach.
We already told you Josh Kohlhaas was named captain of this year’s All-Intramural basketball team. His big scoring was a bright spot on an otherwise middle-of-the-road team. In his years at Garrigan, Josh has become very comfortable in the spotlight. You’ve probably seen him in school plays or performing at pops concert. He’ll be off to college next year, and we wish him all the best.
Libby Wingert is a Wesley native who is one of the top students in the Class of ’99. This National Honor Society member is a four-year cheerleader who used to be in choir and track. She has also won awards for her work in business and technology. Libby is already taking college classes, but we wish her good luck when she starts college for real next year.
Thanks, John. On this week’s Golden Bear calendar, today a group of math students is in Decorah for a mathematics competition at Luther College. Also today, the Garrigan/Algona High Art Show continues at the Algona Public Library.
Today and tomorrow we’ll have try-outs for next year’s cheerleading squad. Tomorrow is baccalaureate mass for the seniors from St. John’s Parish in Bancroft.
Monday the golf teams take on Hampton/Dumont. Then on Tuesday, all the sports teams see action. There’s girls’ track at Garner, boys’ track at Spirit Lake, boys’ golf at Webster City, and girls’ golf at Clear Lake.
The school board will also be meeting on Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday, it’s National Secretaries’ Day. That morning we’ll join our friends at Algona High as we give the gift of life through the bloodmobile.
Wednesday night the golf teams take on Clarion/Goldfield. Then on Thursday there’s the North Central Conference Art Show at Webster City. Also on Thursday, the Model UN students leave for Cedar Falls.
Friday there’s girls’ track at Estherville and boys’ golf at Clear Lake. Then next Saturday the boys play in the Algona Invitational Golf Tournament, and the quiz bowl team travels to Wapsie Valley in Fairbank. Saturday night we’ll have confirmation in Livermore and Whittemore.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week. Thanks for listening, and be sure to catch us again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
