Feature: Girls Swim and Dive

Riley Gojkovich is a hard-working, committed Northwest swimmer who injects passion into everything she does. 

This sophomore has been on the varsity swim team since freshman year and has been swimming for nine years since she was seven. Her commitment to her craft has led her to make strides to accomplish her goals.

“Swimming has taught me the importance of establishing a goal and putting in the work to reach that goal. It has taught me to persevere through tough moments in and out of the pool, and also that there are no shortcuts. If you want something you have to work at it,” Gojkovich commented.

Her perspective on work and swim makes her truly stand out from prior swimmers. Admirably, she does not blame external factors or other people for her performance. Transferring her love of math and logic into swimming, Gojikovich takes time analyzing her strokes and experimenting in the water. She pushes herself to the limit to see what she is capable of, using different strokes or techniques to improve her times. 

She described how, in a way, swimming is a competition with yourself, “You are the only person who can make yourself better, you have to beat your times to improve.”

This mindset of passion and commitment to swim is founded in her childhood. When she was younger in swim lessons, her mother described how she would always give a thumbs-up from the pool with a beaming smile the whole time.

Gojikavich explained, “My passion for the sport has stayed the same all throughout my years on a team. I think that drive and passion are really important factors in sports. It is important that you enjoy what you’re putting time and effort into!”

And her hard work has definitely paid off. Gojkavich was on the High School championship team last year and qualified for a Futures championship this past summer. Additionally, she has competed in several high-level meets such as Speedo Sectionals, and qualified for state.

Outside of swim, Gojkavich spreads her light to show choir, volunteering activities, student leadership at Hope Waukee and schoolwork. A well-rounded student and friend, Gojikovich is a creative person with a lot of hobbies, such as reading, crocheting and painting.

“I love having something to do!” Gojkavich exclaimed.

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Libby Dumstorff is a sophomore on the Northwest Swim team who has strong values which she upholds throughout all aspects of her life. 

Dumstorff has been taking swim lessons since she was three and started swimming competitively at nine when she moved to Iowa. Since then she has continued to swim in club and later Waukee Northwest’s JV swim team, preferring to swim in the freestyle categories. While she puts much of her time into swim, it is a priority for her to maintain a full life outside of her sport. Dumstorff keeps swimming as a passion project because she loves it. She worries that too much pressure put onto the sport will cause her to resent it.

Dumstorff explained, “I find that not getting too wrapped up in swim is a big thing for me. Because while it’s important, I find that in the grand scheme of things, it’s just my high school sport. I have a life outside of it, and if I neglect that, then what will I do outside of swim?” 

School takes up a big amount of her time, being in multiple AP and Honors courses to push her learning to the furthest. Dumstorff is enrolled in both Honors Biology and English II and prospects to enroll in AP Lit, Lang, US History and Gov. 

Besides that, Dumstorff is quite a creative person, listening to music, playing guitar and piano, reading, writing and drawing. She dabbles with gardening and botany as well as playing Mario Kart and hanging out with friends and family.

Dumstorff recognizes swim team as a mostly individual sport besides the group relays. She views when everyone encourages each other on the sidelines as when they come together the most as a team.

“The team is big enough that you can go without interacting with some girls for a day or two, but when they’re swimming an event, you’re up on your feet cheering. The team’s energy around cheering everybody on and encouraging everybody to do their best is something that we should boast about,” Dumstorff beamed.

While she tries not to put too much pressure on her swimming career, that certainly does not mean that this sophomore doesn’t care about her sport. It provides a safe space and community to collaborate with fellow swimmers and cheer each other on. Because of the individual nature, there’s no undercurrent of competition in swim, only feedback to make their peers better. The sentiment of bringing everyone up together instead of getting ahead individually is truly admirable for a sport.

Dumstorff elaborated, “Swim team in particular has had nothing but a positive impact for me. If I’ve had a bad day at school, I know that I can go to swim and my day will turn around. I’ve also been gifted the opportunity to talk to and become closer with people that I never would’ve connected with if it wasn’t for swim! When I’m at swim, I’m practicing and improving my technique, but I’m also asking my friends how their days went, and if they want to go to Casey’s to get donuts after practice. It’s such a fun thing to be able to do my favorite sport with such amazing girls.”