Gojakovic's Record Assault Sparks Kit Swimmers

One day after Halloween, Vanya Gojakovic turned in one of the scariest performances in the history of the Evanston girls swim program.

Why scary? Because the best is still to come for the Evanston junior, and the rest of the state of Illinois should beware.

Gojakovic broke a pair of school records and claimed first place finishes in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100 backstroke races Saturday at the Central Suburban League South division meet held at Glenbrook North and paced the Wildkits to a second place finish in the team standings.

Gojakovic’s record run ranks as one of the best single one-day efforts at a conference meet for an ETHS swimmer since --- forever, maybe even dating back to the days of Hall of Famer Stacy Cassiday in the 1980s.

Head coach Kevin Auger certainly hasn’t seen anything like it in his long tenure at ETHS. In a four-hour stretch Saturday at GBN, Gojakovic wiped out the school record in the 50 freestyle held by current assistant coach Heidi Toft since 1990 --- eclipsed the Evanston record in the IM with a winning time of 2:04.41 --- and came within a half second of the CSL South mark held by former Glenbrook South great Olivia Smoliga on her way to victory in the backstroke.

“That was just a great performance,” Auger praised. “How can you do better than breaking two records and having four lifetime bests? That was definitely some incredible swimming by Vanya today. That shows you just what an elite athlete she really is.

“That freestyle record has been around forever and it’s her coach’s record, so that was special. She’s been fast all season, so what happened today doesn’t surprise me. She had best splits in every stroke (in the IM) and that’s Vanya’s super power, that she’s good at all four strokes (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle). And I think she can still go significantly faster, especially in the IM.”

Gojakovic accomplished all of that in a competition where New Trier always dominates, and Evanston rarely has had an individual earn more than one conference championship at a single meet.

The last was Erin Long in 2020, but that was under unusual circumstances. Long turned in the fastest times in the 100 and 200 freestyle in a “virtual” competition due to the COVID-19 outbreak that found each conference school conducting time trials at their own individual pools, then turning in the results.

Gojakovic combined with Nina Gatchell, Tacy Jamison and Annika Wartowski to make a splash right from the start of the meet in the 200 medley relay. The Wildkits were only seeded fourth coming into the race, but ruled the fastest race of the day (the top four finishers were all under the Illinois High School Association state qualifying cut) with a time of 1 minute, 46.20 seconds.

Wartowski’s lightning-quick anchor (freestyle) leg of 23.63 was good enough to hold off Maine South anchor Abbie Przekota as the Hawks were clocked in 1:46.96.

Gojakovic was just getting warmed up at that point. The lanky junior, who won’t start her postseason taper until next week, captured top honors in the 200 IM in 2:04.41. Clio Hancock owned the previous school mark of 2:04.96 set in 2017.

In her next race, the 200 freestyle relay, Gojakovic took down Toft’s 50 freestyle mark that was the oldest surviving number on the ETHS record board. Toft won the IHSA state championship in that race in 23.78 back in 1990, but Gojakovic’s leadoff leg in the relay registered at 23.60. She is credited with the record even though it didn’t happen in an “open” race, as leadoff legs in both swimming and track are often a fraction longer and are legitimate records.

Evanston finished second in that race, in 1:36.98, and Gojakovic earned another individual title in the 100 backstroke in 55.97.

Gojakovic’s hard work to improve her technique in the freestyle over the past two years has led to her big improvement in the IM, but the junior’s jump for joy on the pool deck came when she topped Toft’s record.

“Heidi’s had that record for a long time, and I’m really happy that happened for me today,” she said. “My improvement in the freestyle has been so, so big for me and that was one of my big goals, to get that record.

“I’m super, super happy about the IM record too, especially since I’m untampered and unshaved. That’s a great place for me to be, and I can’t wait to see what I can do at State now. I definitely expected to go fast today, but two records in one day is amazing. I just don’t know any words to describe it.

“Winning in a really challenging conference like this is hard. When you’re really pushed, you figure out what you can do and that will push you on to State.”

Gojakovic’s ability to pile up the points was necessary for Evanston to fend off Maine South in the race for second place in the team standings. New Trier repeated as champion with a total of 418 points, followed in order by Evanston (301), Maine South (299), Glenbrook North (160), Glenbrook South (131) and Deerfield (86).

Her brilliant showing also overshadowed teammates Gatchell and Wartowski, who turned in some of the best performances of their pool careers. Gatchell, a sophomore, recorded a first place finish in the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.86 and Wartowski contributed top finishes in the 50 freestyle (3rd in 24.31) and 100 freestyle (2nd in 53.10) in addition to her relay work.

Gatchell held off New Trier rival (and fellow sophomore) Riley McNeal of New Trier (1:06.83) in the breaststroke after also chopping four seconds off her season best in the IM and finishing fourth in 2:11 flat.

“Riley and I have gone back and forth in the same events ever since we started high school,” Gatchell said. “She’s always great competition and we pushed each other a lot. This was a fantastic opportunity for me today. I was surprised to win, but I’ve learned to never underestimate myself. It you trust yourself, and you trust the process, you’re capable of anything.

“It all comes down to your training. We wake up early and stay late, and we work on the small things because we all care so much about swimming. I think our times today showed we’re right there with New Trier.”

The Wildkits also counted top five individual finishes from Susannah Keller, 3rd in the 500 freestyle in 5:17.95, and Merrill Short, 5th in the 200 freestyle in 1:59.46.