ETHS girls swimming: Gatchell, Gojakovic seek state titles

Nina Gatchell and Vanya Gojakovic didn’t just win sectional championships for Evanston’s girls swim team Saturday at Glenbrook North. The two Wildkits also inserted their names into the conversation as potential state champions, too. Gatchell, a junior, posted a winning time of 1 minute, 3.43 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke, the best time in that event at any statewide sectional. And Gojakovic, a senior, dominated both the 200 individual medley (2:02.68) and 100 backstroke (55.60). Both standouts are trending up, and that conversation about a possible state championship from either — or both — isn’t a conversation veteran head coach Kevin Auger minds having after the Wildkits placed third overall in the sectional team standings with 218 points. New Trier (304) and Loyola Academy (269.5) finished first and second. Senior Susannah Keller earned a repeat trip to State in the 500 freestyle, and the Kits also advanced in all three relay races (200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle). The Illinois High School Association state finals will be held Friday and Saturday at FMC Natatorium in Westmont. Auger believes there’s still plenty left in the tank for Gatchell and Gojakovic. Gatchell was the only individual in the state of Illinois to swim as fast as 1:03 at the sectional level, while Gojakovic is ranked in the top five coming out of the sectional in both of her individual events. Gatchell also bettered the state qualifying standard in the IM, seventh in 2:08.68, and that set the tone for the speedy junior, according to her coach. “I think they’re both in a good position to swim faster next week,” said Auger. “I know the saying is you aim for the moon and you fall on the stars, but they’re aiming for the stars and might fall on the moon. Nina had a two and a half second drop in the IM Saturday — her breaststroke split was a second and a half faster — and I think that helped her gain some confidence.” The Hall of Fame coach knows some of the likely state contenders might not have gone all out at their respective sectionals, including New Trier junior Riley McNeal, who settled for second place to Gatchell with a pedestrian time of 1:04.76 after beating Gatchell the previous week at the Central Suburban League South division meet. The New Trier philosophy of not trying to swim fast every week at the end of the season isn’t a philosophy that Auger subscribes to. He believes Evanston’s training methods can produce fast and then faster swims in consecutive big meets and thinks Gatchell is capable of ruling at State no matter who’s lying in the weeds. “If New Trier wants to play head games like that, that’s OK,” Auger said. “The important and exciting thing is that Nina won the sectional. Her goal is to go 1:02 next week. She really wants to go faster. “I’m optimistic that if Nina has the confidence, she’ll swim fast. She just has to own that time she swam and recognize that ‘I did it, and this is how I did it.’ When she has her nerves under control, her stroke gets better, and she swims faster. She’s been fast in practice, and we’ve talked a lot about holding onto her stroke and coming forward and up [out of the water].” Gojakovic’s final trip to the State meet could be a memorable one. She not only qualified in her two open races, but her leadoff leg on the 200 freestyle relay broke her own school record in the 50 freestyle, as she lowered her time from 23.44 to 23.38. She teamed with Gatchell, Keller and junior Maddie Baxter for a runner-up time of 1:37.01 to New Trier’s 1:36.13 in the 200 relay. She also contributed a backstroke split of 25.73 in the medley relay, joining Gatchell, Maggie Brennan and Talia Wexler for a third-place showing in a season-best 1:45.45. “Vanya’s done the work, just like Nina has,” Auger pointed out. “It will be tough in the IM because Paige Kowal [of Rosary] is swimming the IM instead of the 200 freestyle this year, and she had a 1:59 at the sectional. But I think for Vanya to be in the top five coming out of the sectional is a good thing, because it takes a little bit of the pressure off.” In the 500 freestyle, Keller will be seeking to make it to the final day after being eliminated in the state preliminaries last year. The top eight individual finishers advance to the championship heats on Saturday, with the next eight in each race qualifying for the consolation heats. Keller’s busy day at the sectional included relay efforts in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays in addition to her open races in the 200 and 500. The ETHS team captain earned third in the 500 free in 5:09.37, a lifetime best for the senior, and also dropped two and a half seconds in the 200 even though she didn’t qualify at 1:56.69, good for fifth. Her leadoff 54.19 leg on the 400 relay was solid enough to help the team of Wexler, Baxter and freshman Cora Kwon keep their season alive with a time of 3:36.48 that placed third, under the IHSA state cut. “Susie works so hard, and she has such a great attitude. She’s a great kid,” Auger praised. “She had a heavy workload — what we call doing the 850 [yards] Special — and that’s a lot of yards to swim in a short amount of time. We really needed someone we could count on in that 400 leadoff leg, and we knew she’d get the job done.” Among Evanston’s non-qualifiers, Baxter claimed fifth in the 50 freestyle in 24.99 and fifth in the 100 freestyle in 54.76, just ahead of teammate Wexler (25.11 in the 50, 55.08 in the 100) in both races. Related Stories