10/29/16

Good morning! I’m Andrew Thilges!

I’m Levi Capesius!

And I’m Danielle Plathe! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”. Happy Halloween from everyone here at Bishop Garrigan High School.

The state cross-country meet is taking place today down in Ft. Dodge, and we’re proud to say the Golden Bears have two different athletes competing at state. The Bishop Garrigan girls finished fourth as a team at the state qualifying meet, just missing the chance to go to state as a team. Junior Alisa Altman finished fifteenth overall, finishing the race in 20 minutes, 52 seconds. She will be running in the 1-A state final at 2:00 this afternoon.

Senior Ryan Kenyon also qualified for state. He finished the fifteenth in the boys race at the state qualifying meet in 17 minutes, 28 seconds. Ryan will be running at 2:30 this afternoon. The state cross-country meet is at the Lakeside Golf Course at Kennedy Park, which is just north of the Fort Dodge Airport. Admission is free, but there is a $10 per vehicle parking fee. Good luck at state, Ryan and Alisa!

The Golden Bear volleyball team has had a great run in the post-season. After a back-and-forth match against North Iowa in the regional opener, they won decisively over West Bend—Mallard Monday night. That win advanced them to the regional semi-final Thursday night against St. Edmond. The Bears brought their A-game, and while it took five games, they ended up beating the Gaels.

The win advances the girls to the regional volleyball final. They’ll be playing at Clarion Tuesday night against #1-ranked Janesville. While we know it will be a tough match, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this just might be the year that the Golden Bear volleyball team goes all the way to state. Good luck, girls!

Playoff football time is here again. While half as many teams qualified for playoffs this year, that didn’t matter to the Bears. A week ago they wrapped up their second straight undefeated regular season by beating St. Edmond 40 – 7 in Ft. Dodge. They hosted the first round of playoffs last night when they faced the Earlham Cardinals. We had to record this week’s show before that game, but we know the Bears played a great game and gave it all they had. We hope they’ll be playing again next Friday and continuing far in playoffs.

Last weekend all-state music auditions were held over at Storm Lake High School. Three Garrigan students made the cut and will be part of the all-state choir. Senior baritone Levi Capesius will be making his fourth straight trip to all-state. Also selected for the highest honor in music were junior Sam Trainer and sophomore Bryce Capesius, who both sing tenor.

In addition to the all-state honorees, Caitlin Thilges and Megan Bronk received call-backs after their initial all-state auditions. The All-State Music Festival concert will be Saturday, November 19, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. The concert will be broadcast on Iowa Public Television on Thanksgiving night, November 24, at 7pm, with a repeat Sunday, December 4, at 5:30pm. Congratulations to the all-state music honorees.

The Golden Bear quiz bowl team made a very good showing last weekend when they competed in the Centennial Scholastic Bowl in Ankeny. The field was mostly made up of 4-A schools from the Des Moines area, and the Bears were one of the smallest schools competing. Nevertheless they ended up making playoffs and finishing in second place overall.

Bishop Garrigan defeated Ames High, Ankeny High, Ankeny Centennial, and West Bend Mallard on their way to claiming the second place trophy. The only team they lost to was the eventual champions from Waukee. Representing the Bears were captain Ben Degen, as well as Logan Heying, Drew Hansen, and Samantha Harrington. Congratulations, quiz bowl!

Last Tuesday we inducted three seniors into the National Honor Society. NHS recognizes achievement in scholarship, leadership, service, and character. This year Josh Hamilton, Andrew Meister, and Joel Vaske joined fifteen second-year members of the organization. Congratulations, National Honor Society inductees!

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Joel Vaske. Here to tell you about him is Logan Capesius.

Joel Vaske is a Bancroft native who is a year-round athlete. He’s a starting wide receiver and safety in football, he’s been to state multiple times in track, he’s won all-district honors in baseball, and he’s also lettered in basketball. Joel’s other activities have included Christian Leadership and the National Honor Society. He plans to go to UNI next year, and we wish him all the best in the future.

Thanks, Logan! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s state cross-country today at Kennedy Park in Ft. Dodge. Tomorrow night Christian Leadership students will be collecting for the food pantry.

Monday is Halloween. Then on Tuesday we’ll have a special all-school mass for All Saints Day. Then on Tuesday there’s the regional volleyball final at Clarion.

Wednesday report cards for the first quarter will be sent home. There’s no school next Friday, but that night we hope to be playing in the state football quarterfinals for the right to go to the dome.

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