Burnet swimming performs well in own sprint meet

CAPTION: Jack Milliorn (left), Zachary Young and Evyn Hartz are three members of the Burnet High School swimming team. Photo by Kaydence Burnett/In Color Photography

The Burnet High School swimming team hosted its annual Hoot-N-Holler Sprint Invitational recently where the Water Dawgs impressed head coach Connor McBurnett. 

The coach, who is in his first year leading the program, noted the importance of this meet for the 261 swimmers who competed.

“Since the Hoot-N-Holler features mostly sprint events and Halloween-themed relays, there aren’t many chances to (set new personal records) in standard events,” he said.

Still, McBurnett noted the importance of the meet, especially for the swimmers who represented 15 programs across the Austin and San Antonio areas. That included District 13-4A members Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch, Marble Falls, Fredericksburg, Salado and Burnet. 

“Every athlete had a chance to compete in this meet,” McBurnett said. “The saying that I always tell the swimmers is that there’s no substitute for racing. You can’t get better at racing unless you get chances to race, so it’s vital that they each get a chance to compete against others and experience real competition. Any opportunity we have to go against other swimmers is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss.”

Several Burnet swimmers stood out.

Among them are freshman Natalie Kneese and juniors Rhett Eaton and Jack Milliorn.

“(Kneese) came into this year very new to the sport and has shown tremendous growth in the small time I’ve worked with her,” the coach said. “I’m particularly proud of how she’s growing into her role as a backstroker, with this being her first year swimming anything outside of freestyle.”

Eaton and Milliorn’s mentality are as important in their preparation as their talent.

“Rhett Eaton is a tenacious racer with a competitor’s mindset. He fights hard in his races and had a particularly strong 50 (butterfly) performance,” McBurnett said. “Jack Milliorn is a very conscious racer, who has worked hard on planning how he approaches his races. His 50 (meter) freestyle and 50 (meter) breaststroke each stand out, placing fifth and fourth, respectively.”

He noted there’s no substitution for getting in the pool and facing other swimmers.

“Unfortunately in swimming progress will never be linear,” he said. “There’s going to be bumps at different points in the path for every athlete, and those bumps are going to come at different times. What stood out to me as a great sign of progress, however, was the thought that the athletes are starting to put into their race. There’s a misconception that races are swam as hard as possible for the full duration and that’s just not the case. Strategy and planning are just as key to swimming success as training hard, and seeing the athletes begin to incorporate strategy into their races has been a real sign of growth across the whole group.” 

The Water Dawgs will compete at the Belton Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Roy and Jean Potts Swim Center.

CAPTION: Natalie Kneese (left) is talking with Kynlee-Ann Buller in between races. Photo by Kaydence Burnett/In Color Photography