Janna Julius laid in an easy basket off a nice feed from Abbey Holmes to just beat the buzzer to give the Algona Bulldogs an exciting 43-41 North Central Conference girls’ basketball win over the Humboldt Wildcats in a game played in Algona on Friday, Dec. 2.

Bishop Garrigan tossed in nine three-point field goals and got some quality minutes from its bench in a 50-30 season-opening non-conference victory over the St. Edmond Gaels in a contest played in Fort Dodge.
The black-and-gold came out hot behind the three-point arc, splashing 5-of-7 treys in the opening eight minutes and led 16-9 at the conclusion of the first quarter.

ALGONA—Three players hit double digits in the scoring department to help lead the Algona Bulldog boys’ basketball team to a convincing 66-34 non-conference win over the Estherville-Lincoln Central Midgets.
After a slow start, the red-and-black held a 16-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased its advantage to 27-11 at the halftime break.  The Bulldogs also led 43-26 as the fourth period of action began.

It was billed as a battle between the best two defensive football teams in Class A for the state championship at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls on Thursday, Nov. 17.
Both Bishop Garrigan and Gladbrook-Reinbeck did not disappoint the large crowd as the Rebels scored a touchdown with six minutes left to edge the black-and-gold by the score of 20-19.

All season long, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears’ defense has been outstanding and a big reason why the squad was 11-0.  Friday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls in the Class A state football semi-finals, the defense was called on late one more time for the a trip to the state championship game.

For the first time since 2005, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears football team is headed back to the UNI-Dome.  The black-and-gold defeated third-rated West Hancock 12-8 a defensive, physical football contest between the two rivals played at Conway Field on Friday, Nov. 4.

In her first year out for cross-country, Bishop Garrigan junior Alisa Altman placed 94th at the Class 1A state meet held at the Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge on Saturday, Oct. 29 with her time of 22:47.4.
“Alisa did an awesome job today,” said Golden Bear Coach Cassie Rowley.  “She was very nervous before the race and I told her at the starting line to relax and take things in because she is going to be right back here next season.

In her third appearance in the Class 3A state cross-country meet in her career, Algona senior Morgan VanZante finished in 97th place with her time of 21:19.9.
The meet was held on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Lakeside Golf Course inside Kennedy Park just north of Fort Dodge on a beautiful fall afternoon.

Trey Engen’s second straight trip to the Class 3A cross-country meet saw the Bulldog sophomore ending up in 79th place with his time of 17:35.8 on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Lakeside Golf Course just north of Fort Dodge.
Last season at the same location, Trey finished in 68th place for the red-and-black with his clocking of 17:37.9, which was his best time of the year last fall while his best clocking this season came at the district meet at Spencer in 16:55.55.

Bishop Garrigan senior Ryan Kenyon ran at the state meet for the first time in his career and ended up in 77th place for the black-and-gold with his clocking of 18:17.7
“Ryan did a great job,” said Bishop Garrigan Coach Cassie Rowley.  “It was not his personal best but I thought he gave everything he had and ran a solid race.  He usually likes to start slow and he did that again today.

Only the finish line was biggest obstacle keeping Riley Bauer from a state title.  The North Union junior captured the Class 1A state title by cruising to the win with a time of 16:09.7, 23 seconds ahead of runner-up Shane Breheny of Treynor in the meet held in Fort Dodge on Saturday, Oct. 29.

It was an instant classic. Algona came in with a 21-18 overall match record with a youthful squad that had gotten enormous contributions from four freshmen throughout the 2016 season.
Humboldt was ranked eighth in the final Class 3A rankings with a sparkling 31-1 record and was led by six experienced seniors and a pair of juniors.

Bishop Garrigan moved onto the Class 1A regional semi-finals with a four-set victory over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines in a match played at West Bend on Monday, Oct. 24.
West Bend-Mallard grabbed an early 5-2 advantage in game number one before the black-and-gold fought its way back to tie the contest at 12-12. The visitors took the lead up to 17-13, broke it out to 23-16 before taking the first set by the score of 25-17.

Bishop Garrigan wrapped up a perfect regular season for the second straight year with a 40-6 victory over the St. Edmond Gaels in a game played at Dodger Stadium in Fort Dodge on Friday, Oct. 21.
The Golden Bears (9-0, 7-0) will entertain Earlham (6-3) in the first round of the Class A playoffs at Conway Field on Friday, Oct. 28, as the Gaels finished a tough year at 2-7 and went 1-6 in district play.

North Union was on the road at Emmetsburg to finish the regular season as the green-black-and-silver overcame a little adversity after leading hitter Olivia Marlow went down with an injury during warm-ups to defeat the E-Hawks in three straight sets.
“I was very proud of how the girls adjust without any preparation,” said Warrior Head Coach Ashley Scheevel. “I was not sure how they would adjust when Olivia went down as she is our big hitter and has been playing really well.