Bishop Garrigan establishes Hall of Fame

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

In the 65 years since Bishop Garrigan Schools of Algona first opened, the school system has experienced many firsts.

On Aug. 28, the school will have another first when it officially establishes the Bishop Garrigan Athletics Hall of Fame and the first inductees are honored.

According to John Kesselring, Bishop Garrigan PreK-6 principal and high school football coach, he was having conversations about a hall of fame with fellow teacher and coach Brian Patterson whose father had previously served as an athletic director. Talks about forming a hall of fame began to pick up about 18 months ago.

“It felt like the right time to do this so we started exploring what it might look like,” he said. “We started throwing around ideas and once we got the framework of what we were envisioning, then we took it to President Christy Peterson.”

The Garrigan president was all for the idea as was Rob Meister, the current athletic director.

“That’s when we got to work,” said Kesselring, who noted they formed a committee with current coaches, alumni, the school’s development director and president. “Then it just took off from there.”

After they announced the school was launching a new hall of fame, Garrigan sought nominations and received about 60.

At the same time, he noted, the committee did their own research to determine approximately how many potential nominations they might receive. The committee discovered there have been 98 state champions or runner ups plus countless state participants.

“There is a long, rich tradition with Garrigan athletics so there is no shortage of potential inductees,” said Kesselring.

He pointed out that for this first year, they selected honorees with unique accomplishments. The inductees include seven individuals and one team.

2025 inductees – the inaugural class - include:

GeelhlanJim Geelan: Bishop Garrigan’s first athletic director who played a pivotal role in establishing the success of the school’s newly formed athletic programs – football, boys basketball, boys track and baseball. He served in that role until 1962.

Paul Seiler: A member of the class of 1963 who played football for Coach Beanie Cooper, he was a known heavy hitter as tackle on offense and linebacker on defense. He went on to play for the University of Notre Dame as well as New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.

Jack Muller: A renowned athlete during his time at Garrigan, this member of the class of 1968 earned nine letters while participating in football, basketball, track and baseball. He also captured school records before playing on the offensive line at the University of Iowa and then was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.

MeisterEugene Meister: While he served at Garrigan as business director, curriculum director and the first lay president, Meister also coached baseball and basketball from 1988 until his retirement in 2013 where his teams earned many conference and district titles along with state appearances. He was inducted in Iowa Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1996.

Renetta Seiler: This member of the class of 1995 captured four individual state championship titles – three in shot put and one in discus. At Garrigan she also participated in volleyball and softball before continuing her track and field career at Kansas State University where she earned All-American honors and other accolades.

Brad Nelson: Honored for his achievements in baseball and basketball, Nelson was a member of the class of 2001. On the court, he was a two-time all-state selection who scored a school record 62 points in a game. On the diamond, he earned all-state honors three consecutive years and was drafted by Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 and played for several MLB teams.

Tom Froehlich: A four-sport athlete, this 1970 alumnus returned to Garrigan in 1976 as a teacher and coach of football, basketball, track and golf. His coaching skills contributed to various state appearances in several sports.

1975 Golf Team (Steve Winkel, Tom Geelan, Scott Winkel, Ron Lickteig and Gregg Winkel): This team, which has been touted as laying the foundation for the school’s powerhouse reputation in golf, captured Garrigan’s first state title in any sport. These men went on to make several state golf appearances.

While there are eight inductees this year, Kesselring noted that future years they anticipate inducting about five each year.

“It’s easy to honor the kids and the families we serve every day because we see them and interact with them all of the time, but it’s really those from decades ago – how to honor them so people can continue to hear their stories. That was part of the motivating factor for the hall of fame,” said Kesselring. “We have such a rich tradition and history here – that can get lost after decades and we don’t want that to happen.”

On Aug. 28 the inductees will be honored at a ceremony and dinner. The following evening, Aug. 29, they will be honored at Garrigan’s first home football game of the year.

The names of the inductees will be engraved on a plaque to be displayed in the high school.

“The centerpiece of the display will be a 65-inch touchscreen and surrounding it will be the inductees,” said Kesselring, who noted that students will be able to click on the screen and read all about the inductees. “It’s a way to mesh a traditional hall of fame display with digital technology – the way the world is going right now.”
 
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 The 1975 boys golf team was Garrigan's first state champs for any sport - team or individual.