The Bear Facts
April 22, 2023

Good morning! I’m Gavin Swift!

And I’m Tate Foertsch!  You’re listening to the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.

This weekend two Garrigan students are headed down to Orlando. They’ll be part of the national DECA conference, where they’ll demonstrate their skills as future business leaders. Sophomore Brooke Ludwig took first place in Iowa in the hotel and lodging management category at the state DECA competition last winter, and junior Zach Warren was among the top competitors in restaurant and food service management. National DECA starts today and continues through next Tuesday. Good luck to Zach and Brooke as they compete at nationals!

It’s been almost two months since the Golden Bear girls basketball team wrapped up the best season in school history. The recently announced their team awards and noted all the changes that have been made in the record books. To nobody’s surprise, this year’s co-MVPs are Audi Crooks and Molly Joyce. Molly was also named Most Improved Player, Ashlyn Hovey won the Teammate Award, and Abbie Capesius won the “Fire in Your Belly” Award.

Four other Golden Bears also lettered this year: junior Reagan Murphy, sophomore Zoe Montag, and freshmen Emmi Bartolo and Sacha Alesch. Alaina Casey, Reese Kemna, Ava Snider, Alyssa Haugland, Haley Nemmers, and Ava Roethler were also part of the state championship team.

The Golden Bear record book will never be the same after 2023. The team overall set records for best record, most wins, highest offensive average, best field goal and free throw percentages, and most three-pointers in a season. Audi Crooks now holds every school scoring record: 50 points in a game, 889 points in a season, and 2,734 points in her high school career. She has the highest field goal percentage, with 75.2% this season and 71.5% in her career. Audi also broke records with 25 rebounds in a game and 384 this past season.

Audi isn’t alone in breaking records, though. Molly Joyce broke the career steals record, with 423 in the past four years. She already set the season steals record, getting 109 as a freshman. Molly also has three assist records—15 in a single game and 193 in the 2022-2023 season, and 504 over her career. Molly is also second only to Audi in career points scored, with 1,898 over four years.

Some of the younger Golden Bears also made big contributions this season. Sacha Alesch is now #5 in all-time free-throw percentage, making 80% of her shots. Abbie Capesius is #7 all-time at 78%. Sacha is also #9 on the all-time three-point percentage list, making 39% of her three-point attempts. Those two will be at the core of next year’s team.

While the girls dominated the basketball news this winter, the Golden Bear boys also had a good season. They racked up a winning record in the Top of Iowa Conference and are looking forward to even better things next year. Jack Grandgenett was named second-team all-conference, while Drew Fogarty and Carter Schwab were honorable mentions.

Other letter winners for the Golden Bear boys include Ryan Noonan, Aidan Hovey, Logan Nemmers, Justin Bauer, Drew Muller, Trayton Cink, and Carter Schwab. One more honor this year was that Drew Fogarty made the list of top all-time rebounders for the Golden Bears.

Next Thursday Garrigan students will be participating in our annual Giving Back Day. Different groups of students will be doing various service projects both around the school and in the community. Some of the activities at school include cleaning the trophy cases, hanging new stage curtains, and getting the baseball and softball fields ready for the season. Students will also be working on the parish garden at St. Cecelia’s, doing clean-up work in the cemetery, and helping with special projects in Whittemore and Bancroft.

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Zoey Von Bank. Zoey has been active in dance all through high school, and she helped lead the Bears to multiple first place awards. Zoey’s other big activity is cheerleading. She’s been on both the football and basketball spirit squads, and she’s cheered competitively. Next year Zoey will be studying nursing at Allen College in Waterloo. We wish her all the best in the future.

On this week’s Golden Bear calendar, today Zach Warren and Brooke Ludwig are leaving for national DECA. They’ll be in Orlando through Tuesday for that event. There’s also an archery meet today near Cedar Rapids.

Monday there’s golf in Forest City and a trapshooting meet at Ventura. Tuesday we’ll begin the day with a student mass, which will be the seniors’ last school mass of the year.

Tuesday night there’s girls track at Forest City and boys track in Emmetsburg. Then Wednesday morning the juniors will be doing job shadowing.

Several students will be honored at the Stinson Prairie Art Show on Wednesday. There’s CYO golf on in Ft. Dodge Wednesday night and also a trapshooting meet at Humboldt.

Thursday Audi Crooks and Molly Joyce will be participating in the Drake Relays in Des Moines.  We’ll do service projects for Giving Back Day on Thursday. That night there’s coed track at North Union. On Friday the golf teams travel to Garner, and Saturday the baseball and softball teams will host camps. Finally next Saturday night will be Prom 2023.

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