The Bear Facts
May 3, 2025
Good morning! I’m Brooke Ludwig!
I’m Thadd Kollasch!
I’m Isaac DeLange!
I’m Isabella Waechter!
I’m Scott Bormann!
I’m Brady Galligan!
I’m Spencer Doerning!
And I’m Molly Peterson! Welcome to a special edition of the “Bear Facts”, where the Class of 2025 is saying their goodbyes here at Bishop Garrigan High School.
Most of the actual learning is over for the Class of 2025. The seniors will take their final exams next Tuesday and Wednesday. Baccalaureate is Wednesday night in the Garrigan chapel, and graduation will be next Sunday, May 11. A couple of seniors officially graduated at semester, but they’ll be walking across the stage with their classmates, and juniors Reece Kemna and Zeke Elbert will also be graduating with the Class of ’25.
This year’s seniors have left their mark in many different activities. The biggest of those is probably football. Fourteen seniors played for the Golden Bears last fall, as many as the entire teams for some of our opponents. They include Trayton Cink (who signed to play college football), as well as Owen Murphy, Keaton Helleseth, Isaac DeLange, Brady Galligan, Wyatt Rosenmeyer, Nick Leerar, Thadd Kollasch, Scott Bormann, Andrew Lichter, Drew Muller, Dan Meis, Nick Thul, and Benny Matthews.
After winning the state championship last year, the Bears again went to the Dome in 2024, advancing all the way to the state semifinals. The seniors helped to turn around the football team, which had multiple losing seasons after the initial switch to eight-man ball. Now they’ve built a tradition for the younger Bears to follow.
The seniors also helped lead to success in other sports. The girls basketball team went to state for the sixth straight year in 2025. Zoe Montag was the lone senior on the team. She was strong both in shooting and on defense, though, which helped lead the team to success. There were three seniors out for volleyball—Hanna Merron, Molly Peterson, and Alaina Bormann—and they helped lead the team all season long.
The Bears won the conference championship in both baseball and softball last summer, and Dan Meis, Brady Galligan, Zoe Montag, Hanna Merron, and Molly Peterson will all be entering this summer’s season with all-conference honors under their belt. In golf Sam Greteman, Drew Muller, and Reece Kemna have also help lead the Bears to success.
Several seniors have had success in track. On the boys’ side these include Trayton Cink, Owen Murphy, Andrew Lichter, Brady Galligan, Thadd Kollasch, and Nick Leerar, while the senior girls in track are Zoe Montag, Brooke Ludwig, and Molly Peterson. Alaina Bormann has been the top Golden Bear in archery, while Wyatt Rosenmeyer and Scott Bormann have led the trapshooting team. Zoe Montag and Reece Kemna also earned state honors in cheerleading, and Brooke Ludwig excelled in swimming.
Outside of sports, the seniors have also excelled. One of the biggest areas for their success is DECA. Four seniors—Thadd Kollasch, Sam Greteman, Brooke Ludwig, and Molly Peterson—all qualified for the international DECA competition in Orlando this past weekend, and Brooke was an international finalist for the second straight year.
Brooke Ludwig has also been to all-state in speech, while Molly Peterson, Isabella Waechter, Scott Bormann, and Thadd Kollasch have consistently earned I’s in speech at state. Brooke, Thadd, and Scott have also helped the quiz bowl team excel, as have Sam Greteman, Hanna Merron, Trayton Cink, and Alaina Bormann.
Seniors like Griffin Geving, Spencer Doerning, and Isabella Waechter have repeatedly appeared on stage all through school, and Brooke Ludwig was the student director of this year’s spring play. More than half the senior class has also been in band or choir, including many who have won honors at contests. Congratulations on all these accomplishments to the Class of 2025!
Last Monday Garrigan’s Envirothon team competed at state. They took tests in the areas of wildlife, soil, aquatics, and forest and prairie ecosystems. The group also gave a presentation on how to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer. Garrigan’s Envirothon team included Brooke Ludwig, Ethan Marso, Keegan Berte, Kyle Bormann, Zeke Elbert, Ava Roethler, and Amaury Thomas. Congratulations to them!
On our Golden Bear calendar this week, several students and teachers are working at a junior high quiz bowl tournament that Garrigan is hosting today. Monday we’ll start the day with the annual senior dog show.
Monday night there’s coed golf at Forest City, coed track at West Hancock, and a trapshooting meet at Ventura. We’ll also have the fifth and sixth grade concert that night.
Seniors begin semester tests on Tuesday, and that night we’ll have the spring concert and art show. Then on Wednesday morning there’s the awards breakfast for non-sports activities, and the danz squad has their awards Tuesday night.
Wednesday is the seniors’ last day. There’s baccalaureate at 7:00 Wednesday in the Garrigan chapel, and that night there’s also a meeting for next year’s football team.
Thursday is the Top of Iowa Conference track meet, which this year is in Britt. Friday is the state large group music contest, and then next Saturday there’s a home trapshooting meet.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week, and the last show for those of us in the Class of 2025. The younger Bears will be back the next couple weeks to finish things up and bring you the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.