The Bear Facts
October 25, 2014

Good morning! I’m Cassidy Vitzthum!

I’m Zac Kibby!

And I’m Chloe Garman! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, your weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.

This morning eight Garrigan students are over in Storm Lake for all-state music auditions. Carolyn Baxter, Dorothy Kirsch, Mariah Bronk, Isabelle Davis, Caitlin Thilges, Mark Fakler, Levi Capesius, and Sam Trainer have been working hard all through the fall getting ready for today. This year’s all-state music includes “The Heavens Are Telling” from The Creation by Franz Haydn and a German song by Johannes Brahms. Other numbers include “Way Over in Beulah Land”, “I Carry Your Heart”, “Ballad to the Moon”, and traditional patriotic music like “Battle Hymn of the Republic and “America, the Beautiful”.

Thousands of students are auditioning today at six different sites all over the state. Just 600 students will be selected for all-state—150 in each of the four vocal ranges. We’re hoping some of those selections will be from Bishop Garrigan. Best wishes at all-state auditions to choir director Linda Ferjak and all those trying out!

Last Saturday the Golden Bear quiz bowl team began their season at home. Forty-four teams were registered for the Bishop Garrigan tournament, including seven from our school. The Bears had a great day. Four Garrigan teams made playoffs, finishing in the top sixteen overall. The top Golden Bear team—with Devin Degen, Tony Kollasch, Zach Kollasch, and Taylor Illg—had eleven wins and just one loss on the day and finished in third place overall.

It was also an outstanding day for two younger Golden Bear teams. The team of Sam Harrington, Drew Bacha, Tommy Kollasch, and Olivia Hart lost to Garrigan’s top team in the opening round of playoffs. An all-freshman team—with Ben Degen, Noah Buscher, Sam Trainer, and Trevor Darling—made the quarterfinals, losing to the #1 seed in the tournament. The Bears’ fourth playoff team included Mark Fakler, Gaby Steil, Carolyn Baxter, and Logan Besch.

There’s more quiz bowl action today. The Bears are down in Ankeny today for the Centennial High School Scholastic Bowl. Garrigan has two teams entered today, with ten different students competing. Ankeny draws a different mix of teams, heavy on schools from the Des Moines area and southeast Iowa. We know the Bears will do their best to hold their own against that competition.

Last week Garrigan junior Joseph Espinosa was down in Des Moines for the World Food Prize. Joseph dined with leaders from around the world and heard presentations on new ways to prevent world hunger. He also presented a paper he wrote about food distribution in the South American country of Uruguay. Science teacher Beany Bode accompanied Joseph to the symposium.

Last Tuesday the Golden Bear volleyball team began regional playoffs. They got a commanding win over West Bend Mallard in three straight sets. The Bears will now host Newell Fonda next Tuesday, and we’re hoping a win will bring them another home game next Thursday night.

It’s also playoff time for the Golden Bear football team. The Bears guaranteed themselves another playoff bid a week ago when they beat North Union, though the opponent and site depended on the outcome of last night’s game at Britt. We’re hoping for a long playoff run, and we wish good luck to the Golden Bears!

Unfortunately the season has ended for the Golden Bear cross-country team. While they made a decent showing at the state qualifying meet last Thursday in Nashua, they missed moving on to the state meet—even though some runners had times that would have qualified at other sites around the state. Congratulations to all the runners on a great season, and especially to seniors Tony and Zach Kollasch, Tyler Schnurr, Mark Fakler, Jess Marlow, Taylor Illg, Emily Riesenberg, and Morgan Frideres.

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Betty Straub. Here to tell you about her is Patricia Brandt.

Betty Straub has lettered all through high school in volleyball, basketball, and softball. She’s won awards in speech and band, and she’s also active in choir, Christian Leadership, and the “Bear Facts”. Betty has served as a class representative, and she’s also participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes. Betty wants to be a pre-med major in college, and she’s looking at going to Creighton. We wish her the very best in the future.

Thanks, Patricia. On our Golden Bear calendar there’s all-state choir auditions today in Storm Lake, plus quiz bowl in Ankeny. Also today the Algona craft show is taking place all over town, including at Garrigan.

Next Tuesday is the second round of volleyball regionals. The Bears will welcome Newell Fonda to Friedmann Auditorium. Then on Wednesday football playoffs begin. We’ll have an early dismissal Wednesday for teacher inservice.

Friday is Halloween, and the junior high students will celebrate their traditional Fall Festival that day. That night Garrigan will host the third round of regional volleyball playoffs.

That’s the “Bear Facts” for October. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to join us again next week when we preview the fall musical here at Bishop Garrigan High School.