The Bear Facts
October 10, 2015

Good morning! I’m Michael Condoleon!

I’m Carolyn Baxter

 And I’m Kylie Fox! Thanks for tuning in to the “Bear Facts”, the week weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.

 This past week was a good one for the Golden Bear fall sports teams. Last Friday in their game against North Butler, the Bishop Garrigan football team broke a seventeen-year-old school record when they held the Bearcats to -6 yards over the course of the game. That was the first time ever the Bears’ opponents have gone a complete game with negative yardage. The Golden Bears beat North Butler 37 – 0.

 In volleyball, the girls really came together on senior night last Tuesday. Bishop Garrigan beat West Hancock in four games: 25 – 20, 25 – 11, 24 – 26, and 25 – 13. It was also the annual pink-out to help cancer research, and the fans had a great time cheering the girls on to victory. The Bears have one more regular season match, and they’ll be hosting the first two rounds of playoffs October 20 and 27.

 Ryan Kenyon, the top Golden Bear cross-country runner, added another personal honor last weekend when he won the youth division at the Tornado Alley Run on Band Day. Ryan’s time for the 5-K race was 18 minutes 46 seconds, which was the fastest time in any of the divisions. Garrigan alumni Tony and Zach Kollasch finished first and second in the 10-K run.

 The cross-country team ran on Tuesday in Eagle Grove, and they had one of their better showings of the year. Both the girls and boys teams finished in sixth place overall, each beating two other teams. Ryan Kenyon and Kelsey Hovey both medaled for the Bears. Kelsey finished in 19th place in a time of 23:25, while Ryan took 22nd in the boys race in 18:45. Both Ben Fogarty and Lexi Berte set personal records at the meet. The cross-country team has their conference meet next week, and then the state qualifying meet the week after that.

 Quiz bowl season is here. Today is the first competition of the year for the Golden Bear quiz bowl team. Five Garrigan students got up very early today to make the trip down to Waukee. They’ll face some of the largest schools in the state from the Des Moines area, but we hope they’ll hold their own in competition. Good luck to Coach David Burrow and to competitors Ben Degen, Noah Buscher, Andrew Thilges, Tommy Kollasch, and Levi Capesius!

 This is the start of a very busy stretch for the quiz bowl team. Next week they’ll be hosting their home tournament, which is one of the oldest and largest regional tournaments anywhere. The following week they’ll compete at Centennial High School in Ankeny, and in November they’ll host the Top of Iowa Conference meet. We’ll update you each week on how the quiz bowl team is doing.

 Today is also the biggest day of the year for Garrigan’s Solid Gold Marching Band. The Bears won their division on Band Day. The competition was very light there, though, and they know they’ll have to put on a better show to get a Division One rating at state. The band will be competing today down at Dodger Stadium in Ft. Dodge, and we wish them good luck!





 A lot of small schools have been cutting their fine arts programs in recent years. In fact statewide there are only twenty-four schools in Class 1-A that are competing in the state marching band competition, and Bishop Garrigan is the only 1-A school entered at the Ft. Dodge site. The judging standards are the same for small schools as for large ones, though. Garrigan has a long tradition of success in music, and we hope the band pulls everything together and continues their string of Ones today. Good luck to directors Ken Ferjak and Katherine Simpson and the band!

 Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Olivia Vaske. Here to tell you about her is Mariah Bronk.

 Olivia Vaske is an Algona native who is particularly noted for her sports accomplishments. She’s a volleyball captain, a state track qualifier, and she’s also won letters in basketball and softball. Olivia is a National Honor Society Member who also keeps busy with Christian Leadership in Action. After high school she plans to study at NIACC, and she’d like a career as a physical therapy assistant. Good luck, Olivia!

 Thanks, Mariah! On the Golden Bear calendar today, there’s the state marching band festival in Ft. Dodge, and the quiz bowl team is competing in Waukee. Tomorrow Christian Leadership students will participate in the CROP Walk, which starts at 2pm at the Congregational Church.

 Monday the cross-country team runs at Forest City. Also that night there’s JV football, with the Bears hosting North Union. Then on Tuesday the volleyball team plays at Humboldt.

 We’ll have an early dismissal for teacher in-service on Wednesday. That day several juniors will be taking the PSAT exam. Then on Thursday the sophomores will participate in a field day at Wildhaven.

 We’ll also have a speaker taking about vocations on Thursday. That afternoon the cross-country team runs in the Top of Iowa Conference tournament at NIACC in Mason City. Then on Friday the football team plays North Union at Armstrong.

 That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to catch the show again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.