Good morning! I'm Jacob Richter!
I'm Brianne Donahe!
And I'm Renee Taphorn! Welcome to our last "Bear Facts" show of the school year, as we wrap up our twelfth season here on KLGA.
While the school year is coming to an end, there's an amazing amount of news at Garrigan. All the spring sports teams have had an outstanding spring, some with unparalleled success. Seven members of the Golden Bear girls track team are down in Des Moines today for the state track meet. Last weekend at districts the Bears qualified five events for state. Preliminaries for most relays were held yesterday, and finals are today. Abbie Bradley, Jenna Kollasch, Miranda Boekelman, and Lindsay Becker run the 4 by 200 meter relay for Garrigan; while the 4 by 400 consists of Kelly Schmidt, Maria Kohlhaas, Miranda Boekelman, and Abbie Bradley.
The distance medley competed yesterday. That group included Miranda Boekelman, Lindsay Becker, Abbie Bradley, and Maria Kohlhaas. This morning Alison Brandenburg is entered in the state 1500 meter run. Also today the sprint medley competes. Making up that group are Lisa Thilges, Jenna Kollasch, Lindsay Becker, and Maria Kohlhaas. Best wishes at state to Coach Greg Ahlers and the track team!
The girls are not the only state-bound group. The BGHS boys track team won the district championship last Saturday, and next weekend eleven boys will be competing at state. The Bears qualified nine events: the 4 by 1, 4 by 2, 4 by 4, and 4 by 800 meter relays; the 100 and 800 meter dashes; the 3200 meter run; the shot put; and the discus. Boys qualifying for state are Brian Marso, Spenser Rahm, Chad Meyer, Scott Stence, Chris Scobba, John Reding, Jeff Lappe, Cole Vautier, Seth Rogers, Matt Courtney, and John Kohlhaas. Congratulations to Coach Marty Wadle and the boys track team!
It's not just track that's been successful lately. Last week the boys golf team won the sectional championship. They played districts yesterday at Newman for the right to go to state. Varsity boys golfers include Tim Richter, Bobby Geelan, Ross Froehlich, Matt Kollasch, Dan Garman, and Jason Lallier. Congratulations on a great season to the boys golf team!
The girls golf team has also been doing great. They've won both the sectional and CYO championships, and next Monday they will play at regionals for the right to go to state. Varsity girls golfers include Lindsay Schiltz, Ashley Berte, Michaela Mescher, Sara Kunkel, Amanda Elbert, and April Wolf. Good luck to Coach Dean Capesius and the girls as they fight their way to state.
Summer sports are here. The Golden Bear baseball team starts their season Monday with a doubleheader at Estherville. This year's baseball team features seven returning seniors: Ben Geelan, Aaron O'Kane, Jason Lallier, Brent Shillington, Grant Smith, Andrew Thilges, and Tim Arndorfer. Juniors include Mitch Buscher, Anthony Mcguire, Matt Vitzthum, Bill Vaske, Tim Richter, and Chris Reinhart. Sophomores Gavin Freking and Dan Garman also have a lot of varsity experience. Joining them on the team are Jeff Lappe, Noah Devine, and Adam Elbert. The Bears are the defending conference champions, and they're hoping for another great season. Good luck all summer to the baseball team!
The softball team starts their season June 1st against Algona. Starters are likely to include Kelly Schmidt, Alison Brandenburg, Brittany Pfeffer, Maria Kohlhaas, Ashley Waller, Emily DeWaard, Nicole Reding, Rose Mayer, and Molly Black. Other softball players include sophomores Sadie Foertsch, Denise Kohlhaas, and Allison Even; and freshmen Kelli Black, Marissa Spain, Andrea Richter, Cindy Reding, Katie Buscher, and Alyssa Gisch. Good luck, softball!
Early next month nine members of the Golden Bear quiz bowl team will be headed out east for the National Academic Championships. The Bears learned their competition schedule this past week, and it's one of the toughest they've ever had. They'll be playing two teams from Houston, one from New Jersey, and the defending tournament champions from Horace Greeley High School in New York City.
John Kohlhaas will captain the quiz bowl team at nationals. Other starters include Tyler Rolling, Matt Courtney, and Amber Golwitzer. Alternates at nationals will be Eric Cassmann, Scott Stence, Adam Cink, Jesse Bode, and Josh Broesder. In addition to competing, team members will enjoy a ballgame at Camden Yards in Baltimore and sightseeing in both Washington and Philadelphia. Good luck at nationals, quiz bowl!
Also bound for nationals is HOSA, the Health Occupations Students of America. June 20 Katelyn Besck, Ashley Berte, and Lisa Thilges will be headed for Orlando for the national HOSA competition. Garrigan students won nine medals at the state HOSA conference last winter, an we hope they'll all do well at nationals.
There's a busy summer ahead on our Golden Bear calendar. It starts out today with the state girls track meet in Des Moines.
We'll have final exams at Garrigan Monday and Tuesday. There's a special schedule, and students have open campus when they don't have tests. There's a baseball doubleheader at Estherville Monday night and another at West Bend on Tuesday.
Next weekend is the state boys track meet. Softball starts June 1, and June 2 the quiz bowl team leaves for nationals.
The summer is full of baseball and softball, with ballgames almost every night. Play-offs are in July, and then the fall sports start up in August.
We all know summer will go way too fast. Before you know it, it will be Wednesday, August 25, and school will be starting up again.
That's our final "Bear Facts" for 2003 - 2004. We'd like to thank all twenty-five students who have announced this past year, as well as about a dozen others who helped out behind the scenes. Thanks to our faculty producer David Burrow and thanks to KLGA and its sponsors for keeping us on the air.
Finally, thanks to all of you for joining us each week. We'll be off for the summer, but we hope to be back at the end of August to start our thirteenth season bringing you all the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
