The Bear Facts
October 24, 2026

Good morning! I’m Madelyn Tigges!

I’m Brooklyn Berte!

 And I’m Gabbie Buscher! Welcome once again to the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.

For the third straight year, Golden Bear junior Julia Swift has qualified for the state cross-country meet. Julia won the first place medal at the state qualifying meet at South Hamilton in Jewell last Thursday, finishing the five-kilometer course in a time of 20 minutes, 24.6 seconds, which was thirty-five seconds faster than the second place runner. Sophomore Rachel Kahle just missed qualifying for state. She took 13th place in a personal best time of 22 minutes, 7 seconds.
 

 Senior Eva Kohlhaas finished in 21st place, and 8th grader Charli Steier was 66th, and senior Sheila Reding was 73rd. Overall the Golden Bear girls finished in 5th place as a team out of 19 teams competing. On the boys’ side sophomore Caiden Buckner finished 16th in a personal best time of 18 minutes, 35 seconds. Freshman Samuel Foix was 19th, senior Corbin Darling was 91st, and 8th graders Ethan Murphy and Kayden Richter finished 57th and 94th. The boys’ team finished in 10th place overall.


 The 1-A state cross-country meet will be next Friday, October 30, at the Lakeside Golf Course in Ft. Dodge. The course is in Kennedy Park, just north of the Ft. Dodge Airport. The 1-A girls are the first race of the day. They’ll start at 10:30am. Next Friday is a planned no school day at Garrigan, so we’re hoping lots of people will head down to Ft. Dodge to watch Julia run.

Julia Swift is the third member of her family to run at state cross-country. Her brothers Quinn and Gavin were both state qualifiers, and they went on to run in college. She’ll have two towns cheering her on, since she’s an Emmetsburg native who goes to school in Algona at Bishop Garrigan. Congratulations to Julia on her three-peat as a state qualifier, a special congratulations to her for winning the regional meet, and good luck next Friday at state!

 Also last Thursday two Garrigan dancers were down in Pella for the Iowa Dance and Drill Team Association’s state solo dance competition. Both Avery Culbertson and Delaney Fessler—Arndorfer earned Division 1 ratings for their solo dances. Delaney was one of the top ten dancers out of more than eighty in her division. She now advances to the finals, which will be held in December at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. Congratulations, dancers!

 The BGHS fall musical is just around the corner. This year the Bishop Garrigan drama and music departments are presenting Disney’s Descendants, a musical based on the “Descendants” film and TV franchise. It’s a brand-new musical packed with comedy, adventure, Disney characters, and hit songs. The show will be Friday night, November 6, and Sunday afternoon, November 8.

The entire choir will be part of the show. Some of the featured players include seniors Shiloh Trainer, Aidan Deitering, Cora Deardeuff, Delaney Fessler—Arndorfer, and Matt Besch; as well as Alice Casey, Eva Kohlhaas, Leo Snyder, and Kylie Capesius. Also watch for Henry Bode, Jerad Graves, Anaya Thomas, Caiden Buckner, Madelyn Tigges, Addy Laubenthal, Abby Deardeuff, Rachel Kahle, Holden Glawe, Riley Doerning, Karina Chen, and Charlotte Patten. Be sure to mark your calendar for November 6 or 8 to see Disney’s Descendants at Bishop Garrigan.

The first quarter ended yesterday, and this coming Monday and Tuesday we’ll have parent—teacher conferences at Garrigan. Monday the high school teachers will be in the cafeteria from 2:45 to 6:15pm, and parents can come and go as they please to visit with them. Those who want more private conferences can schedule a specific time on Tuesday, when the teachers will be in their classrooms. They can make appointments with elementary teachers both nights.

 Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Dalton Klenz. Here to tell you about him is Henry Bode.

Dalton Klenz comes to Garrigan from the Bancroft area. He’s been in football all through school, and he’s gone from a back-up role to starting at defensive back. In winter you’ll see him in the pool as one of the key members of the Golden Bear swim team, and he’s also run track. Away from Garrigan you can see him working as a lifeguard at the Bancroft pool. Dalton plans to major in business in college, and he’d like a career as an accountant. Good luck, Dalton!

Thanks, Henry! On our Golden Bear calendar, there’s nothing this weekend. All next week there will be a book fair in the library.

Monday and Tuesday classes will dismiss at 2:15, with parent-teacher conferences following. Monday the high school teachers are in the cafeteria, and Tuesday they’ll be in their classrooms.

There’s a girls’ swim meet at Carroll on Tuesday. We’ll have mass Wednesday morning, and first quarter grades are due that day. Then on Thursday the middle school students will celebrate their fall festival.

 Friday there’s no school, as comp time for conferences. Julia Swift will run at state cross-country that morning. The race will be at Kennedy Park in Ft. Dodge, starting at 10:30am.

 That’s the “Bear Facts” for October. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.