Gymnasts Earn 3rd Place State Trophy

No one expected Giovani Borrayo to be the next Erik Van Leer when he decided to join the Evanston boys gymnastic team this season.

But Borrayo made a difference in his own way.

In what might have been classified as a rebuilding year following the graduation of Van Leer --- possibly the GOAT in the history of Evanston gymnastics --- the Wildkits rose to the occasion with a blue-collar work ethic that earned a 3^rd place team trophy Saturday at the Illinois High School Gymnastics Coaches Association state tournament held at Hoffman Estates High School.

Borrayo, a junior who was home-schooled until this year, collected a total of 5 medals and helped ETHS to a point total of 147.60, behind only Glenbard West (165.9) and Naperville North (150.7).

Junior Nathan Schlack (4) and senior Jacob Potter (3) also joined the medal haul with top 10 individual finishes for the Wildkits, who finished 2^nd back in 2024 when Van Leer was a junior. Evanston won four state titles (1967, 1963, 1965, 1967) and placed 3^rd a total of four times (1964, 1970, 1971, 1972) when the sport was sponsored by the Illinois High School Association.

Veteran head coach Frank Erwin was more concerned about the challengers chasing the Wildkits in the team standings than Glenbard West or Naperville North on Saturday. Only the top 3 teams are awarded state trophies.

“The teams that placed 4^th and 5^th (co-op teams from Downers Grove and Addison Trail/Willowbrook) are very good teams, too. I was sweating it until the very end, until all of the scores came in,” Erwin said. “We had two or three major misses today, but they were offset by two or three of our best performances of the year.

“After Erik graduated there were a lot of questions about how good we’d be. I knew we could qualify for State, but I didn’t know we’d be in the top 3. I thought maybe we could be in the top 5. But everyone stepped up to the plate and did the job. We had a nice response from everyone. We weren’t a ‘one and done’ type of team. It was nice to do it without our superstar. This was special.”

Downers Grove finished with 142.00 points and Addison Trail/Willowbrook finished at 140.70 in the finals field. Neither of those teams had a game-changer like Borrayo, who grew up training in the same club program with the members of the current ETHS squad but didn’t start attending the high school as a student until this season.

Saturday, he scored a 9.4 on vault for a 3^rd place finish. Borrayo also placed 6^th on floor exercise (9.3), 6^th on still rings (8.55), 8^th on parallel bars (8.85) and 7^th all-around (50.70 points).

That’s better than Borrayo ever did at any club competition and he said Saturday that he had no regrets about joining the high school squad.

“I really like these guys, and I had so much support from them this year,” said Borrayo, echoing a sentiment that many club athletes discover when they become part of a team sport. “I guess technically, I’m supposed to be Erik Van Leer’s replacement. But those are pretty big shoes to fill.

“I don’t feel like we were at our complete best today (as a team). I know we can still improve as a team, and I know I can improve, too.”

Although he placed higher in the vault competition, Borrayo noted that he was most satisfied with his showing on floor. “That was by far my best vault in high school, and I’ve only been doing that vault for about a year,” he said. “But this was my best day ever on floor. I think it was because all the nerves left me with all the support and encouragement I got from my teammates today.”

ETHS got off to a good start in the first rotation on floor, but stumbled on rings and that turned the trophy chase closer than Erwin might have liked.

“Gio made a big impact for us this year, because he gave us a good third score (along with Potter and Schlack),” Erwin said. “Having him as a complement to Nathan and Jacob made a huge difference, and today Gio had one of his best meets ever. He’s a great kid and it’s very rewarding to see what he did today. I think the team camaraderie, and the support he got all year, really helped him.”

Schlack’s medal count included a tie for 6^th place on parallel bars (8.9), a 6^th on pommel horse (8.9), a 9^th place all-around (49.60), and a tie for 10^th on horizontal bar (7.5), Potter contributed a 7^th on floor (9.25), a tie for 9^th on vault (9.05), and a tie for 10^th on pommel horse (8.05).

“This might have been my most rewarding year here,” said Erwin. “The year we finished 2^nd was extremely rewarding, and last year was incredible, too. But these kids are all exceptional people, and this was a special year.”