Burnet swimming, diving to compete at state meet
CAPTION: The 2025-26 Burnet High School swimming and diving team includes head coach Connor McBurnett (left), Madison Lowry, Natalie Kneese, Jacob Decker, Aaron Green, Rhett Eaton, Jack Milliorn, Kynlee-Ann Buller and Sofia Cardenas. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School swimming and diving team has several athletes who will compete at the Class 4A state meet Feb. 12-13 at the Josh Davis Natatorium and Bill Walker Pool in San Antonio.
That’s because of their finishes at the Class 4A Region IV meet Jan. 31-31 in San Antonio. punched their tickets to the Class 4A state meet thanks to their finishes .
Diver Aaron Green is the Class 4A Region IV silver medalist thanks to earning a score of 258.45 in the boys one-meter competition. His point-total ranked as the state’s fifth best.
Green will also swim with the boys 200-yard medley relay that finished in 1 minute and 52.73 seconds. Other team members include Jacob Decker, Jack Milliorn and Rhett Eaton. That time is a new personal best for the relay members.
The same four also will compete in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay that clocked 1:39.36, which is a new personal best.
Though the Bulldogs finished the races sixth and fifth at the regional meet, their times were in the top 16 in the state to automatically qualify them for the state meet.
Eaton finished seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:06.78, while Green was ninth in the 500-yard freestyle in 6:01.83. Both set new personal bests.
These results exemplify what head coach Connor McBurnett believes about the competition in this region.
“Our region is definitely the toughest in 4A, and you can see it in the speed and depth,” he said. “There are some very talented individuals and well coached programs, so it sets the example of where our program needs to go. Competing against the best is always good cause it puts you in perspective of where you are and where you want to be.”
Though none of the Lady Dawgs advanced, McBurnett applauded their efforts as much as he applauded the state qualifiers. They are Kynlee-Ann Buller, Sofia Cardenas, Madison Lawry and Natalie Kneese.
“I’m very proud of the performance of all eight swimmers,” he said. “This was a tough meet to go into having the bad weather at the start of the week (Feb. 2-4) keep our swimmers out of the pool more than we would’ve liked before such a big meet. Even with that setback, I saw a lot of great swimming and a lot of coachable moments in all of them. They gave great effort and were very conscious in making adjustments between day one and two.”
Teams could start practicing in early September for meets that began soon after. Burnet hosted its Intra-Squad Sept. 27 then competed in the Belton Invitational a week later. The swimming season is about as long as the NFL.
“Championship meets allow for a lot of reflection, and when I think back on the start of the season, I can’t help but realize how far they’ve come as swimmers and individuals,” McBurnett said. “This team is still very young and we’re only graduating one senior, so it’s hard to not be excited for next season. Having a full season to get to know the athletes and develop relationships with all of them means we can continue our development and hit the ground running in the fall.”
McBurnett said Green is used to competing in both swimming and diving in the same meet, so he isn’t concerned the athlete won’t balance preparation for all of it.
“Aaron does a tremendous job preparing for both,” he said. “Luckily, he’s had a full season of pulling double duty, so he’ll take this meet like every other – one event at a time.”
The coach added that these eight athletes left an impression on him at the start.
“These eight swimmers were the first 8 to show up to our introductory meeting at the start of the year, and I thought it was very fitting that all of them got to advance to regionals,” McBurnett said. “Swim seasons are long, physically taxing and demand a lot of time and effort. I appreciate what these athletes have given to this program and couldn’t be more excited to continue working with them.”
RESULTS
Boys
50-yard freestyle – 12, Jacob Decker, 24.44, 14, Jack Milliorn, 26.02; 100-yard butterfly – 9, Eaton, 1:02.68; 100-yard breaststroke – 11, Milliorn, 1:12.38
Girls
200-yard freestyle – 11, Madison Lawry, 2:18.27; 500-yard freestyle – 8, Lawry, 6:12.57; 100-yard breaststroke – 16, Sofia Cardenas, 1:36.68; 200-yard freestyle relay – 10, Burnet (Lawry, Kynlee-Ann Buller, Cardenas, Natalie Kneese), 2:02.32
