In the 2023-24 season, Evanston girls basketball had a record of 14 wins and 16 losses. 

“[Last season] was tough. We had a very short roster. We didn’t have a lot of girls come out for basketball.  It was difficult to manage, but I think our team made the best of it”, reflected Head Coach Brittany Johnson.

Coach Johnson has been coaching the girls’ basketball team for nine seasons, and, this year, she is also taking on an assistant athletic director role in addition to coaching. 

Following the departure of three seniors Kailey Starks, Zuri Ransom, and Arianna Milam-Pryor, the team is looking for the upcoming seniors to provide a leadership role. 

“I think that our two seniors will step up. I think Jayla Warren will do a really good job of being a leader. Sophomore Payton [King] is also very talented, and I think she’s going to try her hardest to lead and be vulnerable for the rest of the girls,” said junior Havana Van Wyk.  

For Van Wyk, moving to the United States and joining the basketball team last year was an exciting transition in her life.

“Last year, I only got here halfway through the season so it was a very new experience for me: having the crowds you get here, the amount of training, and the amazing coaching staff,” reflected Van Wyk. “Although it wasn’t the result that we wanted, I thought it was an amazing season. We got to play a lot of really great teams, and I got to play with an awesome group of girls,” said Van Wyk. 

Although the team made the most out of having a short roster last season, they still are looking to improve this season. For the Kits, one of the biggest points of emphasis this year will be staying healthy throughout the whole season.

“One challenge of last season was that we struggled a lot with injuries. For example, one of the best players on our team Zuri Ransom, was out for a while with a concussion,” stated Van Wyk. 

Also, the team, with many young players, will need to find a way and stick together throughout all of the triumphs during the course of the season.

“When you have a young team, it feels like everybody is out to get you, and I feel like that is going to be one of our challenges this season,” said Sophomore Payton King. 

Despite these potential challenges, the team is staying very optimistic for the upcoming season. This year’s team wants to establish its identity as a resilient group.

“[Fans] should keep an eye out for the effort that the team is going to put into every play. A lot of our games are going to be tough ones, so I think we are going to win not by pure talent and skill but by together and playing to each other’s strengths”, remarked Van Wyk.

Johnson is looking forward to seeing all of the hard work that the team put in pay off over the course of the season.

“I’m excited for the work that we’ve done leading up to the season to encourage a lot of girls to come out,” voiced Johnson.  I’m hoping that we can help girls to grow a love of the game- like the love of the game that I have.”

Heading into the 2023-24 season expectations for the boys bowling team were sky high. In the season prior, the team had just missed out on the state tournament by six pins, and the team’s already strong lineup was added to with rising freshman superstar Anthony Swanson.  

Swanson was able to qualify for the state tournament, becoming only the third boy from ETHS to ever do so. His 13th overall finish was the best individual performance in program history, but it was bitter-sweet for Swanson as the team collectively just missed out on the state with an eighth-place finish. They totaled a pinfall of 5,763, which was 75 pins behind Lake Zurich (5,847) giving the Bears the final automatic state qualifying spot. 

“It was an unfortunate meet for us, we fought hard but little errors and inexperience really hurt us,” said head coach Harold Bailey.

Over the offseason, Swanson has been able to add to his already impressive resume by finishing tenth out of 360 boys at the US high school national bowling championship and winning the U15 Pepsi Illinois state championship.

“It is impossible to win without that winning mentality. I think Anthony has it , but it is up to him  to transfer it to other players on the team,” stated senior Kealexx Oats.

While the team will maintain its two top scorers from last year (Oats and Swanson), big holes in the roster have been left by graduated seniors Caleb Desavieu and Graham Mckee need to be filled. Still, the team believes that Desaviue and Mckee’s shoes can be filled by last year’s junior varsity players Julian Walker and Micheal Conroy. 

In order for the entire team to achieve their goal of qualifying for the state tournament, it will be essential that more experienced bowlers like Swanson and Oats transfer their level-headedness in pressure moments over to their teammates. 

“I need to lead by example and show them how to be locked in under pressure. If I can do that there is no doubt in my mind that everyone on the team this year will be going downstate,” claimed Swanson.

 The season will kick off with tryouts held in November.

After coming off a solid season last year, the boys’ wrestling team is hoping to carry over momentum into this winter. Evanston finished with five all-conference wrestlers and two state alternates, including then-freshman Rodrigo Salinas. Head Coach Rudy Salinas, Rodrigo’s father, said that what held them back from being great was that they were “injury-riddled.”

Evanston graduated many seniors last season, so the team will be very young this season. With the young team, many uncertainties arise for Salinas and his staff.

“I value the unpredictable unknowns: all the prep that goes into this sport, the surprise wrestlers, and the upsets that happen because a young person believes in themselves,” voiced Coach Salinas. 

Even though Evanston is young this year, they still have some incredible talent in those age groups. Both Rodrigo and Jeremy Marshall made the Nationals team for Illinois last year.

“Wrestling is a sport that you can’t take breaks on. You can’t have distractions outside of school; it’ll show on the mat, and it’ll show in your training,” said Coach Salinas. 

To ensure the team stayed fresh throughout the offseason, Coach Salinas hosted open mats, allowing the wrestlers to come in and get any training they needed. 

“We would come in here and do throws with the dummies or do a lot of conditioning,” said Rodrigo Salinas, now a sophomore on the team.

Coach Salinas has liked what he has seen throughout the offseason workouts. 

“I’m really excited for this season, especially because we’re young. I’ve now been here for well over two decades, and I’ve seen how a young team like this can cohesively bond together and start to rely on each other,” said Salinas.

The boys’ season is set to start on November 26th, where the young squad will look to kick off their 2024-2025 campaign with a win.

The ETHS Girls’ Gymnastics team finished last year with a very successful season, and this year’s team is looking to build on that success.

“Last season was a good season,” said head coach Michael Spevack. “It was a stepping stone for this year, but we took a big step forward.”

Part of the reason for this success was the core of returning senior captains Tait Hansen and Ella Eovaldi. Both athletes made it to sectionals, and Eovaldi’s performance was strong enough for her to make it to State for vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. 

“Ella Eovaldi. She made it to state for four events, which was really exciting. We all went and cheered her on.” said Hansen. Eovaldi would finish 14th all-around with a score of 36.30, the best score at State in ETHS history. 

The seniors won’t be on their own. The depth of the varsity team will be a strength this season, and incoming freshman Julia Darer is expected to make a strong contribution.

“She’s immediately going to make the jump to varsity. It’s not even a question. She’s a phenomenal gymnast,” commented Spevack on Darer. 

It’s not going to be easy for the Wildkits. The Central Suburban League is one of the top gymnastics conferences in the state, and the schedule will be a gauntlet.

“We’re running in an incredibly difficult conference,” said Spevack. “There’s just no other way to put it. A lot of the teams in our conference are just incredible teams.”

Having a tight team is one of the most important values for the team this year, and it is something that both coaches and captains have been working to achieve.

“I’ve made it a point to do my best to create a close-knit team, a team that truly cares for each other’s success and wants to be there for each other,” said Spevack on the culture he wants to build.

“My goal for the season is just to make sure that everybody feels like they have a nice community on the team, and to make sure that everybody has fun,” said Eovaldi. 

The ‘Kits will open the season on November 26th at Glenbrook South.

Last season, the Boys Basketball team started fresh, with a whole new lineup. With an inexperienced squad, Coach Ellis pulled out a credible record of 20-11. The team’s success seemed to be overshadowed by the devastating first round exit to Maine South in the regional semi-finals. 

“We won 20 games last season, a lot of big wins, memorable times, and some moments we’d like to forget. But overall the season was pretty solid,” head coach Mike Ellis said. “Maine South was one of those nights you will never forget but hopefully that adds fuel for us going into this season to prevent that from happening.” 

Entering the new season, the Kits face a similar challenge with their lineup as they did last year, except one starter will be returning: senior Theo Rocca. He will be leading the team and relied on to provide some of the heavy lifting when it comes to the scoreboard. 

Although Theo Rocca is the only returning starter, various players are expected to fall into high-value roles for this team including Theo Rocca’s sophomore brother, Vito Rocca. Another talented underclassman is freshman Ben Ojala, who has proved himself fit for the Varsity level in Coach Ellis’ eyes. The squad also holds seniors Ian Peters, Ryan Ivory, and transfer students George Richardson and Caden Chatham who are all anticipated to hold great worth for this new season. 

“We’re loaded this year. We have a strong bench, underclassmen, transfers, the whole team,” Theo Rocca said. “We had summer basketball, a lot of shootouts, and it went really well. We have a handful of new players, a new team since we lost a lot of seniors last year. But I thought it was a really good offseason, much better than last years, and the team is really coming together”

Coach Ellis has a goal, to get stronger. After working all summer and fall in the weight room with Coach Feldner, the team seems more prepared than ever to show up this season.

“With the new mix of players between young and old and new students of Evanston, it’s just about investing time. Fortunately, they love being in the gym, and we love being there with them, so we think that’s going to be a big benefit for us,” Ellis stated.

A lot of effort has been placed into getting this new team where they need to be physically. Because of this, there are high hopes for the Kit’s squad to succeed in the conference and make a deeper run than the following year. The season debuts on November 26 against Latin.

The ETHS girls bowling team is coming off an exciting 2023-2024 season, finishing with a 14-game win streak that sent them to State. With that momentum, the team is looking to build upon how they ended their previous season. 

“Last [year] was a very good season for the Kits, with an undefeated season and three tournament wins along the way, including the CSL championship,” said head coach Ray Austin.

Since the team finished last season on an extended winning streak, they come into this new season with a target on their back. Despite this increased pressure, the Kits are confident in their ability to back up their success.

“We definitely want to repeat as conference champions. These kids are ready. They want to go back to State. We want to make some noise once we get there, let them know Evanston is in the house,” said Austin.

Junior bowler Jordin Gibson shares the confidence with her coach.

 “I believe the energy will be the same as last year. We know we were the top team in the CSL, and we know everyone will be gunning to beat us.”

The team comes into the 2024-2025 season with a plethora of good bowlers to defend the conference title.

“My team’s nucleus is composed of five All-Conference bowlers: senior captains Neva Whitcomb and Bridgette Bueltmann, seniors Nina Fischer and EJ Bock and junior Jordin Gibson. I’m also counting on sophomores Koi Young and Axel Truax to help out. This team is primed for a great season,” said Austin.

Gibson had a similar message to share about the variety of players on the team.

“Everyone on the team has special skills that contribute in the best way possible.”

Despite the strength of the returning roster, Austin is still encouraging more students to come out and join the team. The team is holding tryouts on November 18th,19th and 20th. 

The Kits will open their season at home against Vernon Hills on December 5.