The public address announcer stumbled over the pronunciation for Vanya Gojakovic’s last name Saturday while listing the field for the consolation finals of the 200-yard individual medley event at the Illinois High School Association state meet.
He got it right the next time. And there’s no question that the Evanston sophomore made a name for herself after helping the Wildkits to their best State team finish since 2018 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
After claiming the final qualifying spot for the finals in Friday’s preliminary swims, Gojakovic climbed four places and earned 12th place overall in the IM with a time of 2 minutes, 7.20 seconds.
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It marked the best individual finish for an Evanston swimmer since Iana Wolff scored a 9th place finish in the 100 butterfly back in 2015. Diver Lucy Hogan did capture the state championship in 2018.
And Gojakovic capped off a breakthrough weekend by passing three rivals on the last leg of the 200 freestyle relay, sparking the Kits to a 10th place effort there in 1:36.46.
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Back on the state map for the first time since 2019, ETHS ended that scoring drought and finished with 19 points, good for 28th place in the team standings. Rosary outscored New Trier 290-272 for the team title.
“I’m happy we scored some points this year. That’s the next step for this team,” said Evanston head coach Kevin Auger, who only counted one senior (Cameron Corbett) among the squad members who qualified for State as individuals and on relays. “We could have scored more if you gave me a half second more on the other two relays. When you’re that close, anything can make a difference and the little things all add up. But that was our goal at the start of the season, and we got there.”
Gojakovic just made the consolation cut with an IM effort of 2:07.65 on Friday, a full two seconds slower than her season best time. She put that minor disappointment behind her with a (faster) split of 27.06 on the first leg of the individual medley, the butterfly, and moved up to 12th on Saturday.
“My goal for today? I had nowhere to go but up,” said the lanky sophomore. “I couldn’t let one bad race (Friday) define me. I was a little disappointed, but it was OK. Today, that was one of my stronger splits this year in the fly and that got me going.
“And I went up to the announcer and corrected him (on the pronunciation) so he’d get it right the next time. I just started laughing when I heard it. Obviously, it’s not the first time that’s happened.”
Auger’s decision to move Gojakovic into the anchor slot on the 200 freestyle relay was a first this season and was actually designed to give junior Annika Wartowski a chance to record a 50 split based on a standing start. Wartowski opened with a solid split of 24.39, but ETHS languished back in the pack after subsequent legs by Corbett (24.18) and junior Tacy Jamison (24.74).
That’s when Gojakovic found another gear and cranked out a 23.15 to finish off Evanston’s climb to 10th. That’s the best relay finish in the program since the 200 freestyle team took 7th in 2018.
“I thought it would get them a little more excited about the race if we made that change (in the order),” Auger explained. “I thought it would give them a little more pep, and they really rose to the challenge. That was an excellent time for Annika --- it was her best --- and it was just a different tactic that we tried.
“Last year at the sectional Vanya had a good race --- and a bad race --- and made it to State on the relay. This year she won the sectional, made the finals and scored some points. That’s not just a little step --- that’s a HUGE step. Her improvement in the freestyle has been incredible this year, and the work she’s done on her freestyle technique really showed up.”
Gojakovic just wanted to send one of her 200 freestyle relay teammates (Corbett) out on a triumphant note.
“I love swimming the relays and I love Cameron Corbett,” Gojakovic declared. “I was just thinking that it was her last race and we have to make this count for her. I really wanted to make sure she went out with a bang.
“It’s a different mindset for me as the anchor, because I spent most of this year leading off relays (medley and freestyle). You’re the last person out there as the anchor and it all comes down to you. It’s now or never. And when I saw we were second (in the consolation heat) I thought omigod, that can’t be right! It was 100 percent a team effort. The other girls all had amazing splits.”
On Friday, Evanston’s 200 medley team was slower across the board compared to the sectional qualifying meet as the foursome of Gojakovic, Corbett, Wartowski and freshman Nina Gatchell posted a time of 1:47.07 that only ranked 18th among the hopefuls to advance. Only the top 16 prelim performances in each race were good enough to advance, eight to the championship heat and eight to the consolation heat.
The 400 unit of Corbett, Gojakovic, Wartowski and junior Georgia Stoolmaker just missed, too, with a time of 3:34.22.
Corbett’s individual hopes were dashed with a prelim time of 58.42 in the 100 butterfly, a half second slower than her previous best at the sectional. Gatchell, who seems certain to get the school record next year, settled for a non-qualifying time of 1:06.19 in the 100 breaststroke.
“Losing Cameron (to graduation) isn’t great --- we’re sad to see her go --- but this is an awesome team overall,” Gojakovic added. “I’m really excited to see where we can go next.”
