Numbers Show Just How Much Kit Swimmers Have Improved

When Evanston coach Kevin Auger decided to switch to the NISCA (National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association) point table years ago to determine the outcome of the Evanston Invitational, he knew that choice would offer much more than allowing every single entrant’s performance to count toward figuring out a champion.

He also recognized that with points based on times --- not on places --- his own swimmers could measure themselves more accurately against the current competition and also their own past results.

No longer just relying on how they feel at this point of the season, or on what their coaches tell them about how much they’ve improved, the Wildkits found out Saturday that the numbers added up to a big plus for 2023 despite their 3rd place finish in the 6-team field.

The Kits not only survived the mid-season test, they thrived over a 24-hour period that also included a key dual meet victory over Central Suburban League South division rival Glenbrook North on Friday night.

Led by senior Abby Romisher, junior Cameron Corbett and freshman Vanya Gojakovic, the Wildkits raised their NISCA score almost 600 points compared to a year ago. That’s called making a splash, even though Saturday’s total of 4,343 left the hosts trailing both Germantown (Wis.) at 4,848 and Loyola Academy at 4,731. Also competing were St. Charles North (3,813), Homewood-Flossmoor (1,218) and Peoria Notre Dame (700).

“On paper, we came into the meet expecting to score about 4100 points and we scored 4343,” said Auger. “And that’s a really objective score, an indication of how much we’ve improved. In this situation it’s like racing (against) yourself --- and we were 600 points better than last year. That was one of the highest scores we’ve ever had here, and it’s really significant to show that much improvement as a team.

“We had a lot of bests --- not just season bests, but career bests --- and our racing was great. We don’t have a superstar, but I’m quite excited about this group. They’re going to get better, and they’re maybe going to be better than even they think they can be.”

Romisher was especially impressive in the back-to-back scenario of challenging meets, the most grueling physical test the ETHS swimmers face up to this point in the season. It’s even more challenging for a distance standout like Romisher, who is aiming to qualify for the Illinois High School Association state finals in both the 500-yard freestyle and 200 freestyle.

She also competes on both freestyle relay teams, and rose to the occasion first against GBN and then again on Saturday.

Against GBN, she chopped a whopping 14 seconds off her season best time, earning runnerup honors in the 500 freestyle in 5 minutes, 23.04 seconds and contributing valuable team points in what turned out to be a 108-78 triumph. That effort came after she won the 200 freestyle in 2:01.02, another season best.

Saturday, she was clocked in 2:01.21 --- good for 4th place as an individual in the 200 freestyle --- and for an encore in the 500 free she came in 2nd in 5:24.02.

The ETHS senior credited her focus on underwater work --- more specifically her turns off the wall --- for those significant time drops this weekend.

“Compared to last year, I’m definitely happy with where I am now in both races,” Romisher said. “I’ve been working on my underwater a lot. It’s a new challenge for me this year, and I think I’m getting better each time I swim. I know I feel better about the race when I get off the wall faster. That’s the key.

“Underwater (turns) is the most difficult part of being a distance swimmer, but now I’m a lot more comfortable in races and I’m much more confident in my ability now. I really, really want to go Downstate in the 500 even though I was not very close to it last year. And it would be nice to go in both.”

Auger knows she still has to drop time in both races to beat the IHSA qualifying standards, and believes the best is yet to come for the ETHS senior.

“Today was a big step in the right direction for her,” praised the veteran coach. “She still has 10 seconds to go (in the 500), but she swam so much better this week. Now making it to State looks like a definite possibility for Abby. It’s really hard to do what she did on back to back days, but that’s what she’ll have to do to make it to the finals (after preliminary State swims on Friday).

“If she were to make it to State, she won’t be in a position to just be able to ease into the finals. She’d have to give it everything she’s got and that’s what she did this weekend. She swam very well on Friday, and she came back and did it again today. And she can go even faster because she still has some things to clean up.”

Corbett placed 4th in the 50 freestyle in 26.07, her quickest time so far, and also finished 4th in the 100 freestyle in 55.88. She finished with a flourish, anchoring Evanston’s 3rd place 400 freestyle relay with a 55.46 split on the last leg.

Gojakovic continues to make an impression as a rookie and Auger has already decided that the freshman speedster will make her postseason debut in the 200 individual medley. That’s not usually a race that freshmen take on right away at the start of their varsity careers, and even the conference championships consist of the 100 medley, not the 200.

Gojakovic, however, showed this weekend that she’s ready for prime time. She whipped Glenbrook North’s Rachel Kravtsov by a full 3 seconds in the IM on Friday, winning in 2:13.86, and was just off that effort while placing 5th on Saturday in 2:15.43. State qualifying in the IM is 2:10.25.

Gojakovic also earned 6th Saturday in the 100 backstroke in 1:01.29.

“Her backstroke was really nice today, and so was her IM, even though it was a little slower than Friday,” Auger noted. “She went head to head with that GBN girl and really smacked her in the freestyle (final stroke of the race). Vanya is a racer --- that’s what I really like about her. And she knows herself and what she’s capable of. She’s very mature for a freshman.”