The Evanston Township High School spring sports season has come and gone and overall it was certainly a very successful one for the school.
The girls track team took home a 32nd place finish in the IHSA Class 3A State meet. The Wildkits had three relay teams and several individuals qualify for the State finals, after advancing through the preliminary round of State competition. This marked the first time since 2011 that the Kits had three relay teams in position to capture a State title on the final day of competition.
In the State final round, the 800-meter relay team of sophomore Gabrielle Calixte, freshman Rikki Gray, junior Ariel Logan and freshman Dystonae Clark finished in 7th place with a time of 1:43.35. The Kits 1,600-meter relay team of Rikki, Gabrielle, juniors Gabrielle Horton and Hannah Lipman finished in 8th place with a time of 4:00.87. Also finishing in 8th place was the 400-meter relay team of junior Chassa Pratt, freshman Dystonae Clark, junior Ariel Logan and junior Maia Hadaway, which finished with a time of 49.19. The Kits also received personal best performances from junior Alliyah Jones, who took 7th in the triple jump, and a 10th place finish from Sasha Gordon, also in the triple jump.
In boys track, after taking 2nd place in the IHSA Class 3A Niles West Sectional, several individuals qualified for the State meet as well. However, the momentum gained in Sectionals unfortunately did not translate into a medal for any of the Kits performers, as they came up short in the State preliminaries.
Those advancing to State included the 1,600-relay team of senior Ayoub El-Ashmawi, junior Jeff Klamm, sophomore George Hannah and senior Julion Michelin. Also advancing were the 3,200-meter relay team of Julion, Jeff, junior Giacomo Conde and junior Max Petersen, along with the 800-meter relay team of senior Isaac Hunter, juniors Peter Braithwaite, El-Ashmawi and junior Sacred Michelin. The Kits also advanced triple jumper Jamaal Perrin, and Sacred in the 100-meter dash.
The girls soccer team also had a strong season, finishing 14-6-2 overall. The Kits beat Lane Tech in the Evanston Regional title game to capture its sixth straight Regional championship. But unfortunately, the Kits lost to Glenbrook South in the New Trier Sectional semifinals.
Regarding her team’s season as a whole, head coach Stacy Salgado said, “I think we did really well. I think we started off very, very strong and had a little slump in the middle. So we worked on a couple things, mostly confidence, and I think towards the end of the season, we were really on the upward with our play and work effort and all of those pieces.” The Coach continued, “[But] I am very happy [and] I am very proud of these girls.”
The girls lacrosse team earned the No. 4 seed in the 9-team Resurrection Sectional field and beat Resurrection 19-2 in the first round of Sectional play. But from there, the Kits were unable to get past Loyola Academy in the semifinals, which unfortunately ended their season on a sour note. But overall, their season featured more highs than lows, as the Kits won their first nine games to open the season and saw head coach Sarah McKenna notch her 100th career coaching victory with a win against Glenbard West on May 11. The boys lacrosse team earned the No. 3 seed in the 12-team Loyola Academy Sectional field, but lost to archrival New Trier in the Sectional semifinals by a score of 15-5.
In addition, the Kits baseball team, after advancing to the Sectional title game last season, did not have the same fortune at the end of this season, as they fell in the Maine West Regional semifinals. The Kits appeared to be on a roll to end the regular season, as they won four of their last six games heading into the postseason. But the Kits bats went quiet in the semifinals against Maine West, as they were held to just one run in the season-ending defeat. The Kits finished the season with an overall record of 14-17, which marked the first time the program finished under .500 since the 2009 campaign.
In water polo, both the girls and boys teams had strong seasons as well. The girls team finished with a 22-11-1 record overall, but fell just short of a trip to the Elite Eight, falling in heartbreaking fashion to New Trier by a score of 11-10 in the Glenbrook North Sectional tournament finale. In that game, Halley Seed tied the game at 10-10 with 2:08 remaining in regulation, but the Trevians scored in the final minute to escape with the victory.
The boys team, fresh off a trip to the Elite Eight last season, finished with a record of 23-8-2. Their bid for back-to-back Elite Eight appearances fell short, as they also fell to the Trevians in the title game of the Glenbrook North Sectional tournament. But prior to that game, the Kits beat Maine South in the Sectional quarterfinal round in dramatic fashion. In that game, the Kits trailed by a score of 7-5 with 4 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, but scored four unanswered goals from Rafael De Gouvea, Nate Perkoski, Jeremy Sherpa and Peter Iachini to capture a 9-7 victory.
Finally, the boys volleyball team entered the 29-team Glenbrook North Sectional field as the No. 14 seed. To open Sectional play, the Kits beat No. 20-seed Senn in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 25-16 and 25-12. But the Kits could not maintain that momentum in the semifinals, as they fell to Glenbrook North in straight sets, 25-20 and 25-21.
All of the spring sports teams certainly had a taste of success this season. So look for the teams to build off that and be in position to capture even more victories next spring.