Dear athletes of the Class of 2025 and the future of Evanston athletics,
Seniors have mirrored what it means to be a Wildkit athlete. Throughout all the downs—like nerve-racking games, tough conversations with coaches, and car rides home after a loss with parents who thought the referee made bad calls—and throughout all the ups—like dominating wins, karaoke bus rides back with the team, and game winners—you guys have paved the way for the future of Evanston athletes.
Athletes interact with many personalities and backgrounds during their time as Evanston athletes. With each personality encountered and every background you were educated on, you learned to become a leader and a reflection of excellence to all. The Class of 2025 athletes have now graduated from high school sports. Yes, your Evanston cleats are being hung up, your jersey number is being passed down, and your banner is being raised. All the materialistic things are moved up and down, passed left to right. However, your spirit, impact, leadership, and perseverance through any challenge will forever be remembered, stamped, and cemented at Evanston Township High School.
As you go on to the next chapter in your life, remember three things:
- Memorize the Fight Song
- Your presence at ETHS games is always welcomed
- And, do everything the Wildkit Way.
We asked some of the Most Valuable Seniors (M.V.S.) on every athletic team and asked them, “What has ETHS sports taught you?” and “How were your four years with ETHS sports overall?”
Here’s what the M.V.S.s had to say:
Boys Basketball: Theo Rocca #11
“Playing for ETHS Basketball meant a lot, playing for the community that you grew up in is a great experience, especially when you’re representing your community well through the sport. Basketball taught me the importance of hard work, brotherhood, family, and togetherness. I have memories that will last a lifetime because of ETHS Basketball.”
Football: Dallas Amos #11
“ETHS Football taught me discipline and consistency with your work ethic.”
Boys soccer: Orlando Tobin #8
“Something I’ve learned is the brotherhood and bonds I’ve made with teammates and coaches just from having a similar hobby.” My four years of E-Town soccer have been the greatest four years of my life, I’ve been so dedicated to the sport and the team. It may only be four months of soccer but I’ve found not only what I call my closest friends but family from ETHS soccer.”
Girls Tennis: Mia Darer #14
“Playing ETHS sports has meant everything to me. It has taught me how to be exposed to different people and different environments and also helped me grow in confidence. I’ve found a second family through ETHS sports, and no matter what grade my teammates are in, or if we’ve had a good or bad day at school, when we all go onto the field it all goes away and we’re all just present in the moment.”
Boys Lacrosse: Roc Michael #19
“Playing Evanston Lacrosse has taught me a ton. Throughout all my years on the team, I’ve not only grown as a lacrosse player, but have also learned the importance of discipline and gained invaluable experience as a leader. I hope that when I’m challenged during college and beyond, I can reflect on my time at Evanston Lacrosse and draw a sense of motivation.”
Girls Basketball: Jayla Warren
“Now that the season has ended I feel like a piece of me is gone. This game has taught me discipline, resiliency, and most important teamwork. It taught me that not everything in life has to be done alone. Throughout my four years of playing I’ve had my ups and downs but I don’t regret any of the mistakes I made, the times I wanted to quit, and the hard conservations I had to have. All of those things made me who I am today.”
Boys golf: Harrison Stracks
Golf has definitely taught me grit. Over the last four years there have been a lot of setbacks but I’ve learned to keep at it and that the hard work pays off. I’ve loved my team on the team, it’s been a great environment where I can have fun and keep working together.”
Boys Wrestling: Brian Henry
Girls Wrestling: Kennedy Murrary
“Participating on the wrestling team taught me I’m capable of doing anything I put my mind to. My two years of wrestling have been so impactful, I feel like I grow each day I’m in the wrestling room. My coaches don’t even feel like coaches, they feel like family.”
Girls Track: Nyel Rollins
“Playing a sport at ETHS, I had to learn how to balance relationships, and it taught me a lot of discipline. Track has meant the world to me and became one of the main sources of my life. I don’t have a highschool culture without track. My four years have taught me how to be strong and handle stress when things get sad, but also know when to be excited about the happy things and learn from others.”
Girls Water Polo: Alice Lemmon
Boys water polo: Rijad Dizdarevic
“All four years water polo was important to me, I started playing in sixth grade and was always looking forward to playing at the high school level. Water polo has giving me some of the best friends I’ve ever had, some of them are in college, some of them are three years older them me and I still talk to them on a weekly basis. I always look forward to playing water polo every school year.”
Boys Swimming: Isaac Peng
“Doing swimming at ETHS taught me a lot of things. It taught me that it’s very important to work hard at something that you’ve committed yourself to, even if you don’t necessarily love the sport, its still very important to show up on time, put in the work, do the best you can because you have an obligation to the sport while you’re doing it. I’m glad that I was able to get through every single part, the good and the bad, most importantly meet people that had become my very good friends.”
Girls swimming: Cameron Corbett
“Swimming taught me a lot about discipline and how to work hard. A lot of times I had to go in early in the morning for swim practices, which takes a lot of commitment. It also taught me how to manage my time well and how to get things done so I can balance my time as an athlete and a social life. My four years were awesome and I had so much fun making new friends.”
Boys Tennis: Stuart Keely-Walker
“Tennis has taught me how your mentality going into something affects your performance. That helped me not only get better at tennis but tackling a problem on a math test or school test. Playing tennis overall has been great at ETHS, I’ve enjoyed my time with the coaches and they’ve done a great job making the group feel like a cohesive unit.”
Girls soccer: Maddy Varela #23
“Playing soccer at ETHS has brought a lot of focus and structure to my life. It gives me something to look forward to everyday, improves my physical and mental wellness, and allows me to be with people who have similar interests and aspirations. It has also taught me hard work and leadership that are transferable to other parts of my life. Playing for ETHS is a privilege and means alot representing my family and friends on the field.”
Pomkits: Nora Williams
Girls lacrosse: Kylie O’Connor #25
“Sports in general remind me that we have a human need to belong and by playing sports we all have an opportunity to compete but also cooperate with each other. I think that playing sports is most important when you don’t feel alone, you feel like you’re with your team, accomplishing something.”
Girls gymnastics: Ella Eovaldi
“Doing gymnastics at ETHS taught me how to be a leader and navigating through all the different types of people and personalities really showed me how hard it is to be a leader and what it actually takes. It also taught me how to be more confident in myself and other parts in my life. My four years at Evanston have shaped my identity and I bonded a lot with my coaches. I love all the girls and we built a community that I hope can last in future years.”
Boys gymnastics: Erik VanLeer
“ETHS Gymnastics has been the way that I’ve learned the majority of my life lessons. Overall, the four years have been a lot of fun. It’s always a highlight of the year, those three months when you’re in season. It’s great to see the hard work you put in the off season show during your actual competition season.”
Fencing: Ellie Newmark
Girls Cross Country: Stella Davis
Boys Cross Country: Sam Froum
“Running cross country taught me how to manage nerves and perform under pressure. My four years running cross country were difficult, exciting, frustrating and elating.”
Badminton: Emily Schirer
Girls Flag football: Hannah Honore
“Playing Flag football at ETHS has taught me to persevere and understand that me and my teammates are all working towards the same goal. All things might be stacked against you, I also learned what it means to help and coach other people. I recommend track to anyone, this sport has taught me a lot about my character.”
Girls Rowing: Natalie Hammond #Seat 6
“Rowing has quite literally changed my life. I didn’t consider myself remotely athletically before joining rowing. It has introduced me to an amazing group of people. These past three years have been amazing, I’ve learned how to handle adversity and toughness through the different workouts. Also how to push through and be competitive with other teams.”
Boys Rowing: Aiden Koepke
Softball: Madison Ball
“Overall softball opened up that leadership role for me. I’ve really enjoyed the year because of my teammates and how we’ve all been together. The years had its lows but definitely its highs.”
Table Tennis: Owen Seaver
Boys Bowling: Kaelexx Oats
“Playing bowling meant a lot to me. Once I found bowling my freshman year, it was my bread n butter. I found myself and in the midst of it I’ve gotten way better.”
Girls Bowling: Neva Whitcomb
