Good morning! I’m Violet Bode!

I’m Ella Schaaf!

I’m Brendan Plathe!

I’m Reagan Murphy!

I’m Ben Greteman!

I’m Benjy Trainer!

I’m Sam Plathe!

And I’m Abbie Capesius! Welcome to a special episode of the “Bear Facts”, where we’re saluting the Class of 2024 here at Bishop Garrigan High School.

It’s so close you can taste it. The seniors have just one day of actual class left, and then there’s final tests. Baccalaureate will be next Wednesday at 7pm in the Garrigan chapel, and graduation will be a week from tomorrow in Friedmann Auditorium. The Class of 2024 chose pink and black for their class colors. The class flower is a white carnation tipped in pink, and the motto is “Remember yesterday, dream for tomorrow, live for today.”

Thirty-one seniors will walk across the stage next weekend. While this is far from the largest class we’ve had at Garrigan, the Class of 2024 will definitely be long remembered. Probably the single biggest memory is the Cinderella story of our football team, who went from a loss in their opening game to capturing the state championship for the first time since 1985. Justin Bauer, Caden Roethler, Drew Lappe, Logan Nemmers, Benjy Trainer, Sam Plathe, and Brody Ludwig were all instrumental in turning the football team around.


Football wasn’t the only sport where the Bears were full of surprises. A lot of people wrote off the girls basketball team after they lost two key players who are now successful in college ball. The Bears really stepped it up, though, returning to state for the fifth straight year. Seniors Abbie Capesius, Reagan Murphy, and Alaina Casey were all important in the team’s success.

There’s been lots of success in other sports, too. Sam Plathe, Justin Bauer, Benjy Trainer, Caden Roethler, Abbie Capesius, Reagan Murphy, and Violet Bode are hoping to head to the state track meet later this month, while Avery Lichter, Ben Greteman, Ethan Kuper, and Logan Nemmers are looking forward to post-season golf. Last fall’s volleyball team had a great season—thanks to seniors like Violet Bode, Avery Lichter, Kyra Deike, Reagan Murphy, Madelyn Bronk, and Alaina Casey.

The state champion danz squad featured seniors Violet Bode, Kyra Deike, and Ella Schaaf. Boys basketball seniors were Ben Greteman, Logan Nemmers, and Justin Bauer, and the seniors in cross-country included Ethan Kuper, Nathaniel Darling, and Abbie Capesius. Caden Roethler and Brody Ludwig were also featured as seniors on the Algona wrestling team.

With summer sports coming up the seniors will also be front and center. Violet Bode, Abbie Capesius, and Ella Schaaf will be leading the softball team; while Drew Lappe, Justin Bauer, and Benjy Trainer will be at the core of the baseball team. Then there’s Nathaniel Darling, the senior who captains this year’s archery team.

The seniors’ accomplishments go way beyond sports. Benjy Trainer won all-state honors in music, while Violet Bode and Sam Plathe were all-staters in speech. Ben Greteman, Sam Plathe, Zach Warren, and Brendan Plathe will all be heading to national quiz bowl this summer, and Zach Warren just got back from the International DECA competition.

The seniors have played key roles in many outstanding plays and musicals over the years—most recently Singin’ in the Rain and Don’t Drink the Water. They’ve also won numerous awards in art, writing, and science; and they’ve helped out often in their local churches and around the community.

While we’re mostly saluting the Class of ’24 this week, we also want to mention a big achievement for one of our juniors. At the international DECA Competition in Anaheim last weekend Brooke Ludwig made it to the final round of competition. She’s the first international finalist from Garrigan in the history of our school’s chapter. Congratulations, Brooke!

We’ve finished up all the senior spotlights for the Class of 2024, so we’ll go straight to our Golden Bear calendar. There’s a baton recital at Garrigan tonight, and tomorrow is the spring meeting for the football team.

Monday there’s the Top of Iowa Conference golf meets. Garrigan will host the girls’ meet at Spring Valley, and the boys will be at Eagle Grove. We’ll also be hosting a junior high girls track meet Monday night.

Tuesday students from kindergarten to grade 11 will have their last school mass of the year. The seniors start semester tests Tuesday afternoon, and there’s a junior high concert that night.

We’ll start the day Wednesday with the fine arts award breakfast. The Top of Iowa Conference art show is on Wednesday. Seniors finish up their semester tests that morning, and baccalaureate will be at 7pm in the Garrigan Chapel.

Thursday is the Feast of the Ascension. The school board meets that afternoon, and Thursday night the Bears will run in district track for the right to go to state.

Friday there’s girls sectional golf. Finally on Saturday morning the freshmen will have the sacrament of confirmation at St. Peter and Paul in West Bend.

That’s the final “Bear Facts” for us seniors. It’s not the end, though, because the younger Golden Bears will be back next week with more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.