When it comes to the ETHS Hall of Fame, only the best coaches and players can be inducted. They persevere through obstacles and set records that leave people in awe. Fenton Gunter fits this criteria and in 2024 he was finally inducted.

Before Fenton Gunter became a coach for ETHS girls track, the team was struggling due to a lack of coaches. Fenton Gunter saw this and – putting his dream of playing professional football on hold – volunteered as an assistant coach to HOF head coach Karen Hoff.

“I was helping out for one day and one day turned into two and so on. Everyone has plans, and I guess my plan was to stay,” said Gunter.

After volunteering for a couple of years, he became the head coach in 1991. Putting coaching over his dreams was an act of pure selflessness; he wanted to help grow the sport of track and field at ETHS. When he became the head coach, he quickly got to work bringing ETHS to the top of the podium. In his very first year, he did the unthinkable and brought the ETHS girls track an IHSA championship. 

“Grateful – that’s the best way to describe it. For us to be able to put it together for those two days and then be rewarded for those performances was amazing,” remarked Gunter.

Gunter has always had high expectations for his girls, which is why he’s had so much success in his coaching career. In his time coaching, he’s brought the Kits 18 individual state titles, 19 relay state crowns, and 16 Central Suburban League team titles. No program in Illinois has had as many accomplishments as the ETHS girls track team.

When girls track was introduced, it was the first sport to have girls and boys practice together. This was groundbreaking, and it’s something that Gunter values to this day. It allowed him to be able to have eyes on his girls, but also have other coaches have eyes on them. To this day, they still continue this tradition and are one of the few teams in the state that use co-ed practices to their advantage.

Before Fenton Gunter retires, he wants to continue what the program set out to do back when it was first established: not to win, but to be respected. Winning was always a plus, but being respected by great teams around them was the best gift Gunter could give his girls. 

When Fenton Gunter eventually retires, he hopes to have a say in who the new head coach will be. 

“If the school gives us the opportunity to have some input into who we would like to see lead the team, that would be great. In the end, it isn’t up to me though,” expressed Gunter.

Chris Livatino is the athletic director for ETHS sports and has seen Gunter’s success over the years.

“It’s great having a coach who cares deeply for his kids and knows how to develop them into not only great athletes but also human beings. It’s no secret why he is the most successful coach in ETHS history – he holds them accountable to the highest standards on and off the track,” commented Livatino

Fenton Gunter’s legacy will be remembered by many; he has not only helped ETHS dominate in girls track for years but has also achieved feats nobody has seen before in Illinois sports. His resume is imposing, and he helped take Evanston girls’ track to the peak program it is today.

Curtis Wideman set ETHS records in shot put and discus as a senior in 2011. His shot put record is 59 feet and 1 inch, and his discus record stands at 187 feet and 2 inches—both of which still endure today.

“Sometimes you don’t realize how important things are until you finish them. I think it’s a testament to how hard I worked. Looking back over ten years knowing I still hold both the shot put and discus records is surreal. It’s amazing, and I hope they stand the test of time,” Wideman reflected.

For Wideman, track and field wasn’t even on the radar until he transferred to ETHS from Schaumburg.

“It’s funny because I never thought I would be doing track and field; football was my first love. It was challenging to understand how to make the transition, as I was naturally more gifted at football. It took some time, but I settled into it pretty nicely,” said Wideman.

Wideman had a very strong season as a senior in 2011. At the sectional meet, he secured first place in shot put with a winning throw of 55 feet, qualifying for the finals.

However, he faced disappointment in the discus.

“It was a bittersweet day. Qualifying for shot put was a beautiful achievement, but competing in discus and not advancing was tough. I would have been the first person in school history to qualify for both events, which was a significant accomplishment I was looking forward to,” said Wideman.

Wideman was able to continue to participate in track and field in College. He enjoyed numerous successes at Southern Illinois University (SIU), earning many medals and championships.

“I’ve won quite a few first places, a few second places, and a conference championship in multiple events. I also made it to regionals in three events,” reflected Wideman.

For Wideman, being inducted into the ETHS Hall of Fame is the utmost honor.

“It feels like a dream come true. Walking through the halls of Evanston as a high school student, I looked up to all the great athletes who came before me. The dedication, the hours, the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my meets have all led to this moment,” reflected Wideman. “To know that I have something that will be eternal is a big accomplishment—not only for me but also for my family, my legacy, and my coach. This is something I’ve always wanted to achieve, and I feel blessed to have had this opportunity.”

For Damon Jones, being honored alongside some of the Wildkit greats, such as his dad Farrell Jones, has been a dream for a long time.

“I came to Evanston with my dad hanging on the wall as a state champion. I always wanted to be hanging on the wall,” said Jones. That dream was finally accomplished when Jones was inducted into the Evanston Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Jones had an extremely successful football career at ETHS, beating New Trier every single year of high school and winning the Central Suburban League his senior year off of major plays that he created.

 “I had a touchdown, and I tipped a pass to Shannon Washington for a 100 and, I think, six or seven-yard interception return, which ultimately gave us the Central Suburban League title,” said Jones.

Many others help Jones achieve his success. Head coach John Riehle pushed him to continue to grow throughout his high school career, and he would’ve never had any of these achievements if Phoebe Bradford, who Jones was living with, didn’t push him to keep playing.

“She had the whole coaching staff come to the house going into my junior year when I didn’t want to play football anymore, and she had them talk to me about how I need to continue to play football. So that was definitely instrumental,” recalled Jones.

After high school, Jones played college football at Southern Illinois University, where his talent earned him a spot in the Saluki Hall of Fame in 2021. 

Jones was then drafted in the 5th round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he played for five seasons before retiring due to injuries. 

“It’s the greatest job you could ever have,” commented Jones.

Now that he’s been inducted into the Hall of Fame, Damon Jones’s legacy will be immortalized at ETHS, just like his dad. 

“I’m very honored to have been to go in the Hall of Fame of Evanston Township High School,” said Jones, “I’ll respect it, honor it to the day I pass away.”

Not many athletes can say that they led two State championship-winning teams in the same school year; ETHS alumni Bob Majors is one of them. 

Majors was the starting quarterback on the 1960 football team that went undefeated and a doubles player on the 1961 tennis team that pulled off the same feat. Both of those teams are in the ETHS Athletic Hall Of Fame, making it no surprise that Majors was inducted on Sept. 6.

“Bob was a once-in-a-generation athlete, truly special. He was the best at two sports that require a very different set of skills,” said Bob Wham, Majors’ doubles partner and lifelong friend.

In 1961, the pair pulled off one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of the tournament.  Majors and Wham came into the state finals torment unseeded and defeated four-seeded teams en route to the doubles title. In the final, they came back from a 3-6 loss in the first set against  Niles’ Mike Bishop and Paul Bear to win 3-6,9-7,6-3. The win secured ETHS its second straight team title in the tournament.

Off the court, Majors was just as impressive.

“Bob had the utmost respect for everyone we played with and against. That is what made him such a great leader,” commented Wham. 

Majors was recruited to the tennis team by coach Kieth Anderson as a junior after an impressive stint on the varsity basketball team. By then he was already widely recognized as a highly promising athlete by the student body.

“He became an extraordinarily popular guy because of how well-rounded he was. He was always a fun person to be around,” explained Wham.

After graduating from ETHS, Majors attended Indiana where he continued to make a name for himself on their varsity tennis team. 

Majors passed away in 2007, but his ETHS legacy will never be forgotten. 

“I doubt we will ever see another athlete like Bob, who is able to play three sports at the absolute highest level and [does] it with a constant smile on their face,” said Wham.

Anastasia Goncharova had an extremely impressive high school career at ETHS. Her achievements in high school have led to Goncharova being considered one of the best female tennis players to ever play at the school. Goncharova’s success and work ethic have also earned her a spot on ETHS’ weight room wall along with some of the other best athletes in recent years.

Now, Goncharova is being inducted into the ETHS Athletics Hall of Fame for her outstanding high school, collegiate, and professional tennis achievements.

Despite Goncharova’s success in high school, she wasn’t without her fair share of challenges. Her junior season was nearly cut in half due to a knee injury in PE. After an incredible season, placing second in the state for Evanston, Goncharova was thinking about going to play on the amateur circuit instead of playing high school tennis her senior year. However, her injury forced her to be sidelined for months. This ultimately led to her decision to continue playing high school tennis. In her senior year, Goncharova won the IHSA Sectional Championships and finished with a record of 24-2 marking one of the best individual seasons in the program’s history.

Her first two years of college tennis were spent at the University of California Santa Barbara where she played the number one doubles position her sophomore year and helped her team achieve a top-fifty national rank.

Goncharova’s college career was essentially divided in two because of Covid.

While Covid negatively affected many collegiate athletes, it turned out to be an extremely pivotal time in Goncharova’s career.

“During Covid, I needed time to reflect [on my tennis]” said Goncharova.

She realized she “needed to make a change.” Goncharova ultimately decided to transfer to the University of Utah to finish her collegiate career.

Transferring to Utah was “The hardest and best decision” that Goncharova made in college. The University of Utah allowed Goncharova to form connections with the coaching staff and fellow teammates whom she is still very close with today. Currently, she is competing in doubles on the pro tour with her friend and former college teammate from Utah. They are ranked just outside of the top 1000 in the world.