ETHS girls swimming: Wildkits seek star power, more trips to state

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Personal record performances and high team finishes in the Central Suburban League South division meets the past couple of years haven’t satisfied the thirst for success for the members of the Evanston girls swim team.

The Wildkits want more – especially in the postseason.

An ETHS squad with designs on qualifying multiple competitors to the Illinois High School Association state finals this fall will open Friday with a dual meet at Loyola Academy.

Since the 2020 campaign – when there was no state meet, but at least three ETHS individuals would have moved on from the sectional that was conducted – Evanston has qualified only one swimmer, Lily Consiglio, and one diver, Susannah Bailey, for the final weekend that’s the ultimate payoff for any competitor.

A little more star power for a program that finished second on the varsity level at the CSL South meet last year and won the freshman conference championship meet – without scoring a single first-place finish – would be welcome on the deck.

Can the Kits make a bigger splash in 2023? Head Coach Kevin Auger thinks so.

“Hopefully we can take a step forward this year,” Auger said. “Maybe we can get at least three individuals and a relay through, at least on paper. We have some girls coming back who had some really good time drops last year, but they’re going to have to replicate that to make it to state this year. I think we have some girls who are definitely knocking on the [state] door.”

Senior Abby Romisher heads the list of possible qualifiers in the 500-yard freestyle and 200 freestyle. She chopped 5 seconds off her 500 time over the course of the 2022 season ‘’and if she can do that again, we’re good,” said Auger regarding hopes for a postseason berth.

Elise Pollack, another senior, dropped more than a second over the summer in the 100 backstroke and the coach believes she could break through to even bigger things in her final year. “She got her best time in the summer after she actually took a week off, so she’s still got something left in the tank,” Auger noted. “Elise is just such a great racer, and I feel like she has more in her.”

Another Wildkit to watch is an incoming freshman, Vanya Gojakovic. She’s already posted times in her young career that are only 1 second off the IHSA state qualifying standards in both the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. “She’s really our top swimmer going into the season,” said Auger. “We’ll decide where to place her and then decide the rest of the lineup after that. I expect her to go after a couple of the freshman school records this year.”

The Wildkits will miss senior sprinter Monroe Stroth in the early portion of the season, until she recovers from an arm injury suffered in a fall. That will give another senior, Nina Kaiser, a chance to step into a bigger role, especially on the relays.

Riley Romisher, Abby’s twin sister, should be among the squad’s top point producers in the breaststroke, the 200 individual medley or perhaps the 500 freestyle. Evy Harrell could challenge for a starting spot in the backstroke as well.

Cameron Corbett tops the junior hopefuls and will likely land in the 200 and/or 100 freestyle after scoring solid time drops a year ago. Also in the mix in that junior class will be Naina Malhotra (individual medley, breaststroke), Sienna Mason (backstroke) and Malia Schoonyoung (500 freestyle). Junior Oona Breen is coming off a solid sophomore season and should emerge as the program’s top diver.

Sophomores who could make an impact include Georgia Stoolmaker, Annika Wartowski and Merrill Short.

Auger took a group of about 15 boys and girls to Northern Arizona University this summer for a week of altitude training. “That was the first time we’ve been able to do that since COVID-19 hit,” noted the veteran coach. “It was the first time for all of those kids and training at altitude of 7,000 feet isn’t like training at home. And a 50-meter pool adds to the shock, too. It’s an incredible facility (many foreign national teams come there to train) and they learn a lot about fitness and nutrition while they’re there. The boys did a little better than the girls – three of them really lit it up – but everyone benefits from that training.”

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