And I’m Tyler Struck! Welcome to the “Bear Facts”. Today we begin our eighth season on KLGA, bringing you all the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
It’s been a very busy summer at Garrigan. In fact, since we signed off last spring, different groups of Bears have been part of three different state tournaments. We’ll start with the boys’ golf team. Everyone knew the Bears were good, but no one seemed to know just how good they were. When they qualified for state last May, no one expected them to bring back any hardware from Iowa City. They did, though. After an average first round, the Bears had an outstanding second round, and they finished up second overall in the state. Senior P.J. Vaske, junior Russ Vaske, and sophomore Tyler Erpelding were among the state golfers. They joined recent graduates Michael Bernhard, Matt Kunkel, and Anthony Gervais. Congratulations to all of them!
Right after state golf came state track. Graduate Adam Sundall took his second and third state championships of the year, this time in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs. This fall Adam is running varsity for the Wartburg College Knights. Doug Besch also finished high in the distance races. Meanwhile many younger students competed in sprints and relays. They include seniors Dean Boever, Dennis Gisch, John Mosbach, and Tyler Struck; juniors and juniors Nick Even, Ben Richter, Bryan McAlpine, and Hank Greer. Recent graduate Phil Kramer also ran at state. Congratulations to the boys’ track team!
That brings us to summer, and the Golden Bear baseball team. They say “chicks dig the long ball,” and the Bears gave them plenty to dig this summer. They were hitting for the fences from opening day all the way to the championship game at state. The Bears hit 90 home runs this season—the most homers ever scored in a season by any team in any class in Iowa, and the third best all-time in the nation. They also made the all-time national top ten in runs batted in, runs scored, walks, and being hit by pitches.
The team set 21 school records as “big bat Bears” marched to their third straight North Central Conference championship. Among them, junior Brad Nelson broke the season and career marks for hits, RBIs, doubles, and home runs. As a pitcher Brad broke the season and career records for wins, as well as the season mark for strike outs. Senior lead-off man Sam Lickteig set new season records with 57 walks and 14 times hit by a pitch. He capitalized on those opportunities and also set the school record for runs scored. Catcher Jeremy Bartolo, who graduated last spring, set new records for fielding and picking off runners, and senior John Mosbach made some spectacular plays to land a perfect errorless season in the outfield.
In addition to the guys we already mentioned, graduates Mark Anderson, Joe Lucas, and Chuck Rahm; senior P.J. Vaske; and juniors Ben Lickteig and Scott McGuire all received All-North Central Conference honors. That’s ten all-conference winners just from Garrigan. Brad, Jeremy, Sam, and P.J. all earned All-District honors. Jeremy Bartolo was named to the second team All-State, while Brad Nelson made the All-State Super Team. P.J. and Ben were named offensive players of the year, while Jeremy won defensive player of the year. Joe and Mark received special Golden Bear awards, Sam and John were named the Most-Improved Players, and Brad was the baseball team’s MVP.
The Bears were at the top of the state baseball rankings most of the season. They played a tough schedule that included some of the top teams in every class. They did well in play-offs and made it all the way to the state championship, where they fell to Council Bluffs St. Albert—a team the Bears had defeated earlier in the season. They ended up with 39 wins and just 7 losses, and the best season any Garrigan baseball team has ever had. Congratulations to Coaches Meister and Bartolo and all the Golden Bears!
Summer is over now, and it’s time for football season. The Bears begin their season tonight, when they face Ft. Dodge St. Edmond. The game will be at Dodger Stadium, and we encourage everyone to go down south and cheer the Bears on to victory. We’ll let you know more about the football team and all their players on later shows this year.
It’s hard to believe, but Homecoming is just three weeks away. Last week the Student Council selected the theme for Homecoming, ’99. This year we’ll be “Rockin’ to the Millenium” when the Bears host Wall Lake View Auburn on September 25. Yesterday the senior class nominated this year’s homecoming royalty. We’ll tell you about them and about all the homecoming events on next week’s show.
It’s calendar time again at Garrigan. Once again we’re selling raffle calendars to help raise money for transportation. The calendars cost just $25, and—since next year’s a leap year—there are 366 different chances to win cash prizes. The money goes to buy new buses and suburbans to keep the Bears safe when they travel to school events. So call up your favorite high school or middle school student, and get your calendar today!
Each week this year we’ll be saluting members of the BGHS Class of 2000 in our Senior Spotlight. We’ll start off with Student Council Presidents Ed Elbert and Jason Geving. Here to tell you about them is John Mosbach.
Ed Elbert comes to Garrigan from Whittemore. Ed is a four-year student council member, who has also been involved in Model U.N. and the “Bear Facts”. Ed likes his math classes, but he’s not a big fan of English. Away from school, he says he likes to study—yeah, right. You may have seen Ed working at Elbert’s Chevrolet.
Jason Geving is active in football, student council, and intramural basketball. You may have seen his TV production work on Channel 4 in Algona. Jason likes math and history. When he’s not at school he’s either watching TV or keeping busy at his job at Fareway. Both Ed and Jason would like to go to college next year, and we wish them all the best.
Thanks, John! On the Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s volleyball this morning at Algona high, and tonight the football team opens their season at Ft. Dodge St. Edmond.
There’s no school Monday because of the Labor Day holiday. Tuesday the cross-country team runs at Estherville, and the freshman football team welcomes North Kossuth.
Next Wednesday the volleyball teams travel to Iowa Falls, while the freshman and sophomore football players play at Algona High. Then on Thursday there’s a confirmation meeting for juniors and their parents.
Friday is the annual appeal kick-off. That night the football team has their home opener against Algona High. The junior class will sponsor its annual pork pattie tailgate party before the game.
Finally, this week, we’d like to welcome four new teachers to Garrigan. Deacon Bob Larson will be the school’s new spiritual coordinator. Joining him in the religion department is Rob Meister. Linda Peterson is our new Spanish teacher, and Amanda Stewart is the new face in the English department. We’re pleased to welcome all these new teachers to Garrigan.
That’s our first “Bear Facts” for the 1999—2000 school year. Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
