The Bear Facts
January 18, 2025


Good morning! I’m Spencer Doerning!

I’m Isabella Waechter!

And I’m Scott Bormann! Thanks for tuning into the “Bear Facts”, the radio show where we bring you all the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.

We’ve mentioned the success of the Golden Bear winter sports teams several times, and they continue to do well. The boys basketball team is tied for the Top of Iowa Conference crown, while the girls are in second place and still have a good shot of taking the conference championship. Many of the teams the Bears have played are in larger classes, so they should be well prepared when playoffs begin.

In addition to the varsity teams, JV and JJV squads have also had an outstanding year. On the boys side, the lower-level players include junior Gabe Swift; sophomores Karson Sidles, Milo Geving, Weston Rosenmeyer, Madden Miller, and Nate Leerar; and freshmen Brad Meister, Hayden Miller, Titan Troyer, Karson Kramer, Gage Meyer, Carter Cink, Sean Thilges, Elson Roethler, and Joey Lallier.

The girls’ JV team includes Carley Nielson and Addyson Faris, both of whom have gotten lots of varsity playing time. Other JV players include Brooklyn Berte, Bree Ludwig, Shiloh Trainer, Jenna Peterson, Ava Roethler, Lilly Wickman, and Haley Nemmers. Congratulations to the younger basketball players!

A handful of Garrigan students have also played a big part in the success of the top-rated Algona High wrestling team this year. Junior Carter McGregor and freshmen Teague Alesch and C.J. McGregor are in the varsity line-up at every meet. All three have gotten multiple pins and racked up tons of wins. Freshman Noah Schafer has also been wrestling at the J.V. level all season long. While they wear the Bulldog uniform in winter, they’re Golden Bears the rest of the year. We’re proud of these athletes’ accomplishments.

Eighteen different Garrigan students have been practicing for jazz choir throughout the winter. Director Antonia Rupert is working with them in two different groups. One group includes Shiloh Trainer, Madelyn Tigges, Cora Deardeuff, Sacha Alesch, Rose Curtis, Kylie Capesius, Kyle Bormann, Matt Besch, Drew Muller, Kayden Graves, Amaury Thomas, Tate Foertsch, Gabe Swift, and Aidan Dietering; while the other features Lilly Wickman, Eva Kohlhaas, Alice Casey, Addy Laubenthal. Good luck, jazz choir!

Three Garrigan sophomores were recently honored by the Algona Knights of Columbus. The Knights sponsor an annual essay contest, and they honor the top submissions. They said all of this year’s entries were good, but the ultimate winners were Eva Kohlhaas, Leo Snyder, and Josephine Joyce. Congratulations!

The theme for Gala 2025 was recently announced, and it’s “Rock and Royal”. This is supposed to combine the edgy energy of rock and roll with the elegance for royalty, and it should create a night of glamor, fun, and celebration. 2025 will be the thirty-sixth year for Gala, and the big night will be Saturday, March 29. Be sure to mark your calendar for Gala 2025.

A lot of high school students have a night that’s kind of like Gala Junior tonight. They’ll be dressing up for the winter formal. This event started just a few years ago, but it’s become an annual tradition. We hope everyone has a great time at the winter formal tonight.

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Schyler Morse. Here to tell you about him is Isaac DeLange.

Schyler Morse, or “Junior”—as everyone calls him, comes to Garrigan from the Bancroft area. In his time at Garrigan Schyler has both played and served as a manager in multiple sports. His biggest success was in track. Schyler is in choir, and he’s also part of the honor society. Science classes are his favorites. He’s already racked up several college credits, and we know he’ll do well after leaving Garrigan. Good luck, Schyler!

Thanks, Isaac! On our Golden Bear calendar, the wrestlers have a big meet down in Creston today. Then tonight there’s the annual winter formal. Tomorrow at 2 and 5 pm you can watch “Beauty and the Beast Junior” at the Performing Arts Center.

Tomorrow is the first round of the K.C. free throw contest. The competition starts at 1:30pm. Monday there’s no school because of a teacher inservice. There’s JV wrestling at Emmetsburg that night, and the JJV boys basketball team plays at Lake Mills.

Tuesday the JV and varsity Bears host Lake Mills. There’s also a wrestling meet at Rockford Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday there’s the dicoesan band festival at Iowa Central in Ft. Dodge.

Thursday the girls basketball teams travel to Humboldt. There’s also JJV boys action that night at Belmond. Then on Friday the basketball teams head down to Eagle Grove.

There’s a big wrestling meet at Algona High on Saturday, and that’s also the day for the district large group speech contest, with fifteen Garrigan students traveling to Manson.

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