Evanston athletic director Chris Livatino talked about some of the highlights of 2017 — including inspiring individual efforts by Aaron Holzmueller and Anastasia Goncharova — and discussed what’s to come in the new year in an interview with Pioneer Press freelance reporter Dan Shalin.
Q: Who was the most dedicated student-athlete at your school over the last year?
A: Senior Aaron Holzmueller is a four-year, three-sport athlete. He has cerebral palsy and runs cross country, swims and runs track. He’s such an inspiration to all our kids and coaches. It’s one of the most amazing stories just to watch the impact he has on kids. It’s not just seeing someone with a disability working to get beyond it. … He might be the hardest working kid of all the athletes. It’s not just a feel-good story, it’s motivational and inspirational what he’s been able to do, the example he sets for all the other kids in each program. He’s really a wonderful, nice kid and a great student.
Also, (senior) tennis player Anastasia Goncharova overcoming a knee injury that kept her off the USTA circuit all summer, and repeating as the runner-up at the Class AA state meet. You’re not going to find too many kids where you can take the racket away from them for (about) six months, and who can climb their way back and defeat the kids she defeated to make the state championship for a second year in a row.
Q: Which coach had the biggest impact on the student-athletes he or she worked with in 2017?
A: It’s hard to pin down just one last year. But I think (girls basketball coach) Brittanny Johnson and (boys basketball coach) Mike Ellis, and the impact they had on their kids and the community. They both had incredible teams last year. Five of our (2016-17) senior girls basketball players are playing in college right now: Leighah-Amori Wool at Western Michigan, Brianna Miller and Krystal Forrester at Park (Mo.) University, Allysah Boothe at Lincoln (Junior) College and Leah Robinson at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College. Three of our senior boys (from 2016-17) are playing college ball: Nojel Eastern at Purdue, Elyjah Williams at Fairleigh Dickinson and Chris Hamil at Northern Oklahoma (Junior) College (at Tonkawa). Meanwhile, Malcolm Townsel is at Don Bosco (Ind.) Prep and fielding college basketball offers.
Q: Which team surprised you the most in 2017?
A: I know I talked about softball last year, but I have to go with softball — winning the regional championship game, which had never been done at Evanston High School, (and) shattering the record for most wins. They went from 18 wins to 23 wins (in 2017). I think they would have to be the team again.
Also, I have to give some love to boys soccer. Maybe they weren’t the most surprising, but it’s surprising to make it to the supersectional three years in a row, which has never been done before at Evanston. It’s not surprising that year in and year out they’ve had dominating performances in the postseason, but it’s pretty remarkable.
Q: Of all the things that fall under your purview, what are you most proud of when you think about 2017?
A: One of the things is that 50 of our seniors (from the class of 2017) went on to play collegiate athletics. It’s the most since I’ve been here (Livatino is in his 12th year as athletic director). The year before we had 49, but prior to that it was in the high 20s or low 30s. The last two years, we’ve had just under 100 kids go off to play college sports. Also, the grade-point averages of our athletes: Seventy-five percent of our senior athletes (in the class of 2017) finished above a 3.0, which is really what it’s all about, making sure we use athletics to make better people and better students.
Q: When you reflect on 2017, what was a teachable moment that really stands out to you?
A: In 2017, I think we had a few teams, like boys basketball, girls basketball and girls soccer, which really had high expectations. They had the weight of the world on their shoulders. Though none of them achieved the ultimate goal of a state championship, or even a state trophy, they all embodied what we want to see out of our programs in class, character, effort and heart. We can’t be any prouder of the type of people those athletes proved to be. That’s the teachable moment for our younger kids: It’s not just about the trophy, it’s about the development of our kids as people, that’s the measure of success.
Q: What was the most challenging part of your job over the last 12 months?
A: I feel it’s kind of the same thing every year — managing so many different programs and people and student-athletes, and at the same time I’m serving as the president of the Central Suburban League (for 2016-17 and 2017-18), which is just an additional responsibility. It’s a juggling act keeping everything going as smoothly as possible so that our kids have the best experience they can have at Evanston.
Q: When you think ahead to 2018, what will make you most excited to come to work?
A: We just have what I feel is the greatest coaching staff, greatest group of student-athletes and supportive parents. It’s a diverse school where kids get to learn about the real world, about each other, about differences and how to stay united through tough times. It’s great to watch every season, every year as kids grow from young freshmen to graduating seniors. That’s the greatest part of the job, to watch that development to a complete person. It’s awesome to see kids come in, maybe somewhat shortsighted (in outlook), and then to work, grow and mature, to develop and become wonderful kids we are proud to call our own. For me, that makes the job exciting and rewarding every year.
Q: What are the top three things on your to-do list in 2018?
A: One really exciting thing coming up that I can’t wait for is dedicating our fieldhouse to (former track) coach Willie May, which will be on Feb. 9. May (who passed away in 2012) is an icon at Evanston. He coached there for 45 years and was the athletic director for 16 years. He was a silver medalist (in the 110-meter hurdles) at the Rome Olympics Games in 1960 and just had an amazing impact on the students he taught as a P.E. teacher and the kids he coached.
I’m looking forward to seeing (senior) Enyaeva Michelin race one more time in a state meet (at the Class 3A state track meet in the spring). In cross country, she went from 117th as a junior at the 2016 Class 3A state meet to the runner-up in 2017. Right after the 2016 state meet, she adopted a new diet and an all-in training workout and basically said: “I’m going to be the best I can be.” She went after it tenaciously across all aspects of her life. My hat goes off to anyone who can dedicate like that.
Also, I’m definitely excited about the 2018 football season. It’s shaping up to be one of the most talented groups we’ve had in the last 15 years. We’re building off of back-to-back 6-3 regular seasons, but I think the best is yet to come. They have a great group of guys coming back from last year’s squad, guys like (seniors-to-be wide receiver/defensive backs) Malik Ross, Gerrad Lamour, Mike Axelrood and Trenton Bertrand, and (junior-to-be running back) Quadre Nicholson. They lose some guys like (quarterback) Drew Dawkins and (lineman) Trey Dawkins. It’s sad that we had to lose those two incredible players, but we have some amazing talent coming back. It’s just a matter of how hard these guys are going to work between now and the start of the 2018 season to maximize their potential.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
![An extra-alarm fire destroyed a home and damaged two others on the near West side Wednesday night, though fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze. The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of West 16th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, according to a social media update from the Chicago Fire Department. Officials quickly upgraded the blaze to a 2-11 fire. Neighbors who clustered around the scene Wednesday night said the home had been under construction and appeared to be vacant. Although the fire was declared struck out at 9:30 p.m. in a social […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-structure-fire-041724-06.jpg?w=525 "An extra-alarm fire destroyed a home and damaged two others on the near West side Wednesday night, though fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze. The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of West 16th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, according to a social media update from the Chicago Fire Department. Officials quickly upgraded the blaze to a 2-11 fire. Neighbors who clustered around the scene Wednesday night said the home had been under construction and appeared to be vacant. Although the fire was declared struck out at 9:30 p.m. in a social […]")
