THE BEAR FACTS
March 1, 2025


 Good morning! I’m Thadd Kollasch!

 I’m Tate Foertsch!

 And I’m Alaina Bormann! Welcome to a special edition of the “Bear Facts”, where we’re doing some celebrating here at Bishop Garrigan High School.

 Six years in a row! The Golden Bear girls basketball will be headed down to Wells—Fargo Arena next week to compete at state for the sixth straight year. The Bears made it look easy when they drained three after three to beat St. Ansgar 73 – 44 in the regional final. Iowa State star Audi Crooks, who started the Golden Bear dynasty when she was a freshman, was smiling in the crowd as she watched the Bears keep the tradition going.

 The Bears success this year comes from the talents of the whole team, not just one or two people. Sophomore forward Gracelyn Eastman has led the Bears with 17 points per game, and she’s also averaged 10 rebounds per game. Junior Carley Neilson and freshman Madelyn Tigges have also been key for the Bears inside.

 Juniors Sacha Alesch and Emmi Bartolo have been big outside. They’ve both regularly scored in double digits, and they both average three steals per game. Senior Zoe Montag and juniors Alyssa Haugland and Ava Roethler have also made clutch threes when it counted. Coming off the bench have been sophomores Shiloh Trainer and Bree Ludwig and freshmen Addison Faris, Brooklyn Berte, Lilly Wickman, and Jenna Peterson.

 The Bears have the number 4 seed in the state tournament. They will play Montezuma in their opening game next Wednesday at 3:15pm. A win would put them in the semifinals next Friday, where they’d most likely face Council Bluffs St. Albert. Congratulations to the Bears on heading back to state, and good luck down at the Well!

 The boys basketball team could also be heading to state. They won the district championship last Tuesday with a big win over Lake Mills, and that win advanced them to the substate game. They’ll play Ft. Dodge St. Edmond tonight down at Humboldt High School. While the Bears lost to St. Ed’s in the opening game of the season, they’ve come a long way since then. Their scoring has been even more balanced than the girls’, and we think it will lead them to a win tonight.

 If the boys win, it will be the first time since 2020 that both the girls and boys have competed at state in the same year. Both teams made it all the way to the finals in 2020, though the boys ended up playing in a nearly empty arena when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We’re hoping to get the chance to cheer on both teams in Des Moines this year.

 Today the Bishop Garrigan speech team is down in Ft. Dodge for the district individual contest. Isabella Waechter and Shiloh Trainer are competing in Solo Musical Theatre. Molly Peterson is entered in Reviewing, and Tate Foertsch is in Radio News Announcing. Eva Kohlhaas will compete in both Prose and Storytelling, and Isabella Waechter is also entered in Prose. Best wishes at district, Golden Bear speech.

 The Royal Arrow Archery Club includes several students from Garrigan, and they’ve gotten off to a good start to their season. In a tournament up in Owatonna, Minnesota a week ago Garrigan senior Alaina Bormann took first place in the ladies’ division, while sophomores Corbin Darling and Weston Ehlers were 2nd and 3rd on the men’s side. Good luck all season long, archers!

 Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Blaire Becker. Here to tell you about her is Brady Galligan.

 Blaire Becker is an Algona native who you may have seen working as a waitress at various area restaurants. She’s been on the trapshooting team and was also involved in the campus ministries program. Blaire has taken college classes like speech, so she should be set to go when she goes off to college. Good luck, Blaire!

 On our Golden Bear calendar, the boys substate game is tonight. The Bears will be facing Ft. Dodge St. Edmond at 7pm at Humboldt High School. We hope everyone goes down and packs the gym to cheer the boys on to state.

 The district individual speech contest is today in Ft. Dodge. Other than that the calendar is mostly limited to state basketball.

 The girls play their opening game at state at 3:15 Wednesday in Des Moines. All tickets need to be bought online through the Bound platform.

 Because of state basketball, Garrigan students won’t be going to a college fair that’s scheduled next Wednesday. If the girls advance to the semi-finals, that game will be Friday at 1pm. The 1-A state championship is next Saturday night at 7:00.

 That’s our first “Bear Facts” for March. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to catch next week’s show as well. Until then, we’ll see you down in Des Moines.

 Go, Bears!