Good morning! I'm Brooke Myers!
And I'm Amber Golwitzer! Welcome to the last episode of the "Bear
Facts" for the 2000 - 2001 school year. School ended Friday at Garrigan and
Seton, and today we're going to be telling you about all the upcoming events of the summer.
First of all this weekend there's the boys state track meet in Des Moines. Six Garrigan runners are down at Drake Stadium, where they're running their fastest around the big blue oval. Lee Elbert qualified for state in the open 200-meter run. The Bears also qualified two relays-the 4 by 100 and 4 by 200 meters. Hank Greer, Lee Elbert, Justin Fickbohm, and Nick Even are running both of the relays, with Mark Steier and Zac Lickteig as alternates. The Bears have had some of the fastest times in the state this weekend, and we're hoping they'll bring home medals from state. Good luck!
There's more state action next Tuesday and Wednesday, with the girls state golf tournament. While they had an up and down season, the Golden Bear girls won the regional championship last Monday, and now they're advancing to state. The varsity golfers include Stephanie Berte, Lynn Kohlhaas, Ashley Thompson, Andrea Schiltz, Katie Von Ruden, and Amanda Wolf. Good luck at state to Coach Dean Capesius, and all the girls!
Summer means it's time to swing the bats and get out the gloves. Baseball season started last Tuesday. While some of the Bears opponents rejoiced when Major League prospect Brad Nelson announced that he would not be playing high school baseball this summer, what they may not have counted on was that the Bears had a good depth of talent that went far beyond Brad. This year's returning seniors include veteran catcher and pitcher Ben Lickteig, pitcher and infielder Scott McGuire, and combination pitcher/outfielders Tony Schmitt, John Steier, and Josh Hanig. Other returning seniors include infielder Steven Courtney and outfielder Chase Johnson.
Backing up the seniors are a good group of juniors including errorless first baseman Mark Meister, pinch pitcher Jeff Vaske, and utility players Joe Bartolo, Tyler Trenary, and Nick Lane. The sophomores in baseball are Alex Vaske, Joe Hellman, and Zac Lickteig. There's also a huge crop of freshmen. They include Aaron O'Kane-who suited varsity last year as an eighth grader-Ben Geelan, Jason Lallier, Andrew Thilges, and Jon Hanig. Rounding out the team are Tim Arndorfer, Brent Shillington, Adam Long, Stoney Wagner, Tyler Rolling, and Grant Smith. Good luck to Coach Rob Meister and all the boys of summer.
If you go to a Golden Bear baseball game this summer, you can't help but notice the new scoreboard towering just to the right of centerfield. The scoreboard was donated by Thelma and the late Bernard Meister. It looks as big as a small house, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better scoreboard in any school anywhere. In fact, it would beat the scoreboards in many professional parks. Be sure to come to a Golden Bear game this summer to check it out.
The softball team starts their season next Tuesday with a big game at Webster City. Wendi Meister is this year's head softball coach, and she plans to have the team run hard and play hard all season long. This year's seniors include ace pitcher Kelly Kunkel, catcher Molly Meyer, shortstop Sara Reding, and outfielders Lisa Arndorfer and Deanna Kohlhaas. The juniors out for softball are Jamie Lorebig at third base, Amanda Gisch and Bridget Buscherfeld in the outfield, and Stephanie Hilbert and Ashley Schiltz in the infield. Pitcher Jill Goodman is on the "injured reserve" list, but she should be coming on strong for the Bears later in the season.
The younger softballers include sophomores Jenni Erpelding, Lisa Even, Janel Richter, Chelsie Wood, Sarah Schmitt, Nellie Fowler, and Rachel Foth. There are also five freshmen out for baseball. Ashley and Nettie McGuire may see some varsity pitching action, while Molly Black, Sarah Mayer, and Nettie McGuire will be playing in all the lower-level games. Last year the Golden Bear softball team came out of nowhere to win the district championship. We wish them good luck and hope they go at least that far this year.
Another big summer event is the national HOSA Leadership Conference. Seven Garrigan students qualified for nationals by medalling in health competitions in Des Moines last winter. They'll be heading to Atlanta June 10 - 17. Making the trip are seniors Tricia Eischen, Brittany Weir, Bethany Weir, and Deanna Kohlhaas; as well as juniors Ashley Thompson, Melissa Lancaster, and Jamie Loebig. Good luck to them and to health instructor Jeanne Wunder!
Right after the HOSA competition is over, seven students will be leaving on another trip-this time to Spain. Spanish teacher Linda Peterson is joining former Garrigan teacher Muriel Singer and students from both Garrigan and Twin River Valley for a trip to the sunny Mediterranean coast. Making the trip will be Teresa McGuire, Melissa Lancaster, Cathy Hellman, Bridget Buscherfeld, Rebecca McGuire, Jennifer Faber, and Lynn Kohlhaas.
We've finished our Senior Spotlights for the year, so we'll go straight into the summer calendar. Today there's boys' state track in Des Moines. Then on Monday the Garrigan band will play for the Memorial Day festivities in Algona.
Softball begins next Tuesday, with the Bears facing Webster City. Then Wednesday there's girls' state golf in Iowa City. State golf continues Thursday, and that's also when summer drivers' education classes begin.
Next Saturday and Sunday the baseball team will play in the CYO tournament at Carroll Stadium. Then on Tuesday, June 5, we'll all be watching to see where Golden Bear slugger Brad Nelson ends up in the
Major League Baseball amateur
draft.
June 9 is the CYO softball tournament at Storm Lake. On the 10th there's national HOSA, and then on Saturday the 16th the baseball team plays at Sec Taylor Stadium in Des Moines. Admission is free for the 11 o'clock game.
June 17th is when the Spanish club leaves for Spain. Baseball play-offs start July 9th, with softball play-offs beginning on the 14th. Then at the end of July we start camps and practices for fall sports.
The teachers go back to work on Wednesday, Ausuts 15, and school starts up again for us on Monday, August 20.
That wraps up our seventh season of "The Bear Facts". More than fifty students helped out with writing and announcing the show this year. We'd like to thank all of them, as well as our faculty producer, David Burrow. Thanks to our sponsors and to KLGA for airing the broadcast each week.
Finally, thanks to all of you for listening. We hope you've enjoyed our show, and we hope you'll join us again next fall, when we plan to bring you more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
