The Bear Facts - March 30, 2013
Good morning, everyone, and Happy Easter! I’m Thomas Bradley!
I’m Andrew McGuire!
And I’m Elliot Boisjolie! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, where we’ve got a lot of good news to celebrate here at Bishop Garrigan High School.
We’re always pleased when we can talk about the Bears being conference champions or district champions, and every once in a while we’re excited when we can mention a state championship. It’s not very often, though, that any school can brag about a team being national champions, but we’re pleased that at Garrigan that’s the title our danz squad just earned. The girls competed at the MA Nationals in Ft. Worth, Texas, last weekend, and they brought home two enormous trophies, winning the national titles for both their kick and pom routines.
Coleen Conway—Schiltz and Barb Stence coach the Golden Bear danz squad, and senior Hannah Boisjolie serves as manager. The dancers include Logan Kumm, Makayla Foertsch, Sam Kollasch, Mallory Schiltz, Mariah McCall, Anna Hohmeister, Paige Berte, Hunter Theesfeld, and Patricia Brandt; as well as Kaitlyn Fogarty, Cassidy Vitzthum, Sophia Grandgenett, Megan Lappe, Kassidy Schiltz, Kylie Fox, Carolyn Baxter, and Hailey Kollasch. Congratulations to the national champion Golden Bear danz squad!
The Golden Bear quiz bowl team also made an awesome showing last weekend. After doing well, but not outstanding, at most of their tournaments this year, the Bears dominated the competition at their last event of the regular season, the Western Iowa NAQT Tournament at Alta—Aurelia High School. Two separate BGHS teams were undefeated going into the finals, and they ended up playing each other in the championship game.
The team of Hannah Bernhard, Tony Kollasch, Devin Degen, and Zach Kollasch ended up winning the overall championship, while Levi Bernhard, Allison Frideres, Jake Hamilton, and Grace Steil finished in second place overall. The win qualifies the Bears to make their fourteenth trip to the National Academic Championships. They will be competing May 30 – June 2 in the Washington, D.C. area. In addition to the players already mentioned, Dustin Miller and Taylor Illg also qualified for nationals. Not all will be making the trip, but it’s a big honor to have qualified. Congratulations, quiz bowl!
We had our playoffs for intramural basketball last Sunday. The first game was uneventful—with the team of Victor Berte, Bobby Plathe, Elliot Boisjolie, Andrew McGuire, Dustin Miller, and Jake Kollasch cruising to a spot in the championship game. The second game ended up being one of the most exciting game we’ve had all season. Andrew Eden, Charlie Thilges, Jason Reding, Jonathan Berte, and Thomas Bradley trailed the whole game—until their teammate Joseph Skilling sank a three right at the buzzer to give them a 33 – 31 victory.
The intramural championship won’t be until the end of April. One of the main reasons for that is Gala, the big fundraiser that’s now in its twenty-fourth year. This year’s Gala is dedicated to longtime development director Diane Elbert, who lost her long battle with cancer earlier this winter. The Gala theme for 2013 is “Phantom of the Opera”, and art students have been busy creating decorations to turn the gym into an elegant ballroom. The Gala preview party will be Friday, and the main event will be next Saturday night. We’ll have more details on the big event on next week’s show.
This past Wednesday art teacher Steve Brosnan announced Garrigan’s first selections for the North Central Conference Art Show. Seaerra Poole, Andrew Miller, Logan Rosenmeyer, Carolyn Baxter, Tess Mayer, Sophia Kaduce, and Becca Richter were all honored with spots in the show. A few additional honorees will be announced before the event, which will be next Friday in Ft. Dodge. Congratulations, art honorees!
While there’s still snow on the ground, track season is well underway. The first main meet of the season is scheduled for next Wednesday. That’s the CYO meet at Buena Vista University. At the core of this year’s girls track team are returning seniors Erin Reedy, Aubrie Meyers, Chelsi Lanus, Melanie Mergen, and Erica Carlson. Juniors Nicole Behr, Erin Quinlin, Jacquelyn Origer, Aisha Miller, Sabrina Book, Vanessa Dodds, and Brittany Kirsh will also add experience to the team. Also out for girls track are sophomores Kaitlyn Fogarty, Taylor Frideres, Emily Riesenberg, and Cassidy Vitzthum; plus freshmen Johanna Vaske,. Avriel Miller, and Kelsey Hovey. Good luck, girls track!
Boys golf has already started their practices, and the returning state champions are looking for another great season. The 2013 golf team features seniors Victor Berte, Bobby Plathe, Thomas Bradley, and John Burns; juniors Michael Berke, David Klein, and Sean Hart; sophomores Jess Marlow and Taylor Illg; and freshmen Andrew Lallier and Michael Condoleon. Good luck all season long, boys golf!
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Becca Richter and Alex Matthews. Becca Richter is a two-time honoree at the North Central Conference Art Show. Her other activities at Garrigan include publications and Christian Leadership in Action. Becca plans to study at an art institute after high school, and she would like a career in design. Good luck, Becca!
Alex Matthews comes to Garrigan from the Emmetsburg area. He’s been active in football and track, he’s gone to all-state in speech, and he’s won numerous awards in choir. Away from school you might see him working at Fareway. Alex plans to attend Waldorf College next year, and we wish him all the best in the future.
On our Golden Bear calendar, there are no school activities this weekend, so that we can celebrate Easter with our families. There’s no school on Monday, but we will be starting to set up for Gala that day.
Tuesday there’s girls track at Clear Lake. Wednesday both the girls and boys track teams are gone for the CYO meet in Storm Lake. The rest of us will have a rosary at school that day.
Next Friday is the North Central Conference Art Show, with St. Ed’s hosting the event. That night is the Gala preview party. Then on Saturday is the big event of Gala 2013.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for March. We wish everyone a Happy Easter, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
