Burnet swimming to host fall meet
The Burnet High School swimming program is off to the races for the 2025-26 season.
The Water Dawgs will host their annual Hoot-N-Holler Sprint Invitational at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the YMCA of the Highland Lakes.
New swimming coach Connor McBurnett, who is a 2020 Burnet High School graduate, returned this summer to take over the program. The son of former Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett graduated from the University of North Texas in May. His mother is Pat McBurnett.
“Swimming at BHS was my introduction to the sport and left me with a deep love for swimming,” he said. “The camaraderie I felt as a Water Dawg has bled into how I try to lead my program, building a team culture that values each athlete individually and as a collective.”
While he lived in Denton, McBurnett was a coach for the University of North Texas Swimming and Diving team and served as a swim instructor for Frisco ISD, said Aaron Peña, Burnet Consolidated Independent School District superintendent.
McBurnett credits one person for his pursuit of wanting to coach the sport.
“I was inspired by my mentor and former BHS swim coach Stephanie Pegues,” he said. “She was so impactful on me that I felt pulled to coach so I could provide that same impact for others.”
The program, which began practices the first day of school on Aug. 13, has five returners: senior Jacob Decker, juniors Jack Million and Madison Lawry, and sophomores Sofia Cardenas and Aaron Green. It welcomed five newcomers: freshmen Matthew Dunning, Evyn Hartz and Natalie Kneese and sophomores Andrew Decker and Zachary Young.
“They have all come a long way since the start of the season and I’m excited to see their continued progress,” McBurnett said. “Our main goal is diversifying our skill sets and setting the foundation for continual growth. Right now we’re still a smaller team, but we’re also quite young with only one senior graduating this year. We want every athlete to be able to step up in any race scenario and throw down with confidence and trust in their training.”
