THE BEAR FACTS
August 29, 2026


Good morning! I’m Madelyn Tigges!

 I’m Gabby Buscher!

 And I’m Brooklyn Berte! Welcome to our thirtysixth season of the “Bear Facts”, the radio show where for three and a half decades we’ve been keeping you in touch with Bishop Garrigan High School.

 A lot has happened since we signed off last spring. We’ve now raised over $5 million in our capital campaign, which has allowed two big construction projects to move ahead. People who come to Golden Bear football games this fall will enjoy the new bleachers and pressbox, which went up over the summer. There’s major construction happening at Seton, and that will be continuing throughout the school year, as an addition gets added in the old playground space.

 As more money gets raised for the capital campaign, other projects will take place as well. Among those are parking and a drop-off entrance by the Garrigan chapel, a new bus barn to store school vehicles in winter, and remodeled bathrooms. The ultimate goal for all the improvements is $9 million, and we encourage everyone who is able to contribute to our capital campaign.

 After school got out last spring the girls golf team and both the boys and girls track teams competed at state. Girls golf ended up in fourth place statewide as a team, and Gabby Buscher finished fifth overall individually. In track the girls sprint medley relay with Ava Roethler, Cate Birkey, Madelyn Tigges, and Brooklyn Berte ended up 7th at state. Congratulations!

 There was also some success in the fine arts early in the summer. Recent graduates Amaury Thomas and Sacha Alesch were honored at the Iowa High School Musical Theatre Awards. They were nominated for the Triple Threat award for their talent in acting, singing, and dancing, and they performed as part of the award show. Congratulations, Sacha and Amaury!

 The Golden Bear baseball had a 17 – 10 overall record and finished in second place in the Top of Iowa Conference. Tate Foertsch was selected to play in the Iowa All-Star Series, and Golden Bear coach Rob Meister was an assistant coach for that event. Tate Was also selected for all-district honors, as were Brad Meister, Carter Schwab, and Karson Kramer.

 Tate Foertsch was the Top of Iowa Conference Player of the Year. Carter Schwab, Aidan Deitering, and Alec Deitering were also all named first team all-conference. Nate Leerar and Brad Meiser earned second-team honors, and Kayden Graves was an all-conference honorable mention. In addition Brad Meister was selected as an all-state honoree. Tate Foertsch and Kayden Graves earned academic all-state honors, and Tate was also selected by the state baseball coaches for a special leadership award.

 In softball the team finished 15 – 9 overall. Alyssa Haugland and Lillian Erpelding—Wickman were named first team all-conference. Avery Culbertson and Rikaya Nielson were second team, and Shiloh Trainer earned an all-conference honorable mention. We’ll look at some of the other softball awards on next week’s show.

 Late in the summer Garrigan football coach Marty Wadle served as head coach for the north team in the 54th Annual Iowa Shrine Bowl, and two Golden Bears—Carter Schwab and Tate Foertsch—played for his Shrine Bowl team. The North Team ended up winning 17 – 7 in an exciting Shrine Bowl game. Congratulations to Coach Wadle, Carter, and Tate!

 The defending state champion Golden Bear football team is looking forward to another good season. Mike Joyce will be the starting quarterback this year, and he’s joined by fellow seniors Karson Sidles, Weston Rosenmeyer, Dalton Klenz, Leo Snyder, Madden Miller, Sawyer Herrick, Nate Leerar, and Marshall Bormann. One spot the Bears will be trying to fill is that of senior lineman Matt Besch, who is out for the season after surgery.
 

This year’s Golden Bear team will also feature juniors C.J. McGregor, Karson Kramer, Hayden Miller, Gage Meyer, Titan Troyer, Carter Cink, Sean Thilges, Brad Meister, Noah Schafer, Elson Roethler, Bryden Morse, Woody Wells, and Jacob Reding. There are also five sophomores and sixteen freshmen out for football. Good luck all season to Coach Wadle and the Golden Bears!

 Next Thursday Bishop Garrigan will be inducting the second class into our athletic hall of fame. This year’s honorees include the 1985 state championship football team, Golden Bear football coaches Larry Weir and Beanie Cooper, runner Chuck Cassel, and basketball and volleyball star Katie Vaske Vaughn. The induction ceremony will be Thursday at 7:30pm.

 Homecoming 2026 is just around the corner. The Class of 2027 nominated their Homecoming royalty this past week. This year’s queen candidates are Kylie Capesius, Bree Ludwig, Sheila Reding, and Shiloh Trainer; and the king candidates are Michael Joyce, Dalton Klenz, Nate Leerar, and Madden Miller. Homecoming will be the week of September 14 through 18.

 Our first Senior Spotlight for season #36 shines on Shiloh Trainer. Here to tell you about her is Henry Bode.

 Shiloh Trainer is in almost every activity there is at Garrigan. She’s involved in softball, basketball, cheerleading, and dance, as well as individual and large group speech, drama, band, and choir. Her favorite class is abnormal psychology, and she enjoys going to mass. Shiloh plans to study holistic chiropractic medicine at the University of Iowa, and she’d like to do missionary work in the future. Good luck as a senior and after high school, Shiloh!

Thanks, Henry. On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s a volleyball tournament today at Ft. Dodge St. Edmond. Then on Monday the JV football team begins their season by hosting West Hancock.

Tuesday there’s cross-country at Mason City Newman, and the volleyball team plays at North Iowa. Wednesday high school students will make a special pilgrimage to the grotto in West Bend.
 The volleyball team plays at Emmetsburg Thursday night, and we’ll have our annual hall of fame induction that evening. Friday we’ll kick off the annual Walk and Pray fundraiser.

 The football team has their first home game of the season Friday night as they take on Riceville, There will be a steak sandwich tailgate meal at the game.

 That’s our first “Bear Facts” show for the new school year. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to catch the show every week to hear the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.