Overview: Burnet athletics enjoys record-breaking year, breaking opponents’ hearts

CAPTION: The Burnet High School girls basketball team and the first of several trophies from the 2023-24 season. File photo

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series.

An astounding nine district championships with another three playoff berths and two Class 4A state silver medals illustrate the Burnet High School athletic department’s supremacy during the 2023-24 school year.

While the Lady Dawgs continued their streak by winning four district titles — cross country, basketball, track and field and soccer — the Bulldogs showed their mettle in winning championships in football, cross country, basketball, track and field and baseball.

The number of district championships won in one school year set a new record for the athletic department.

In addition, the Lady Dawgs picked up some impressive victories in the Olympic sports. In girls tennis, the doubles team of Tatum Salinas and Aly Van Zandt earned state silver medals from the Class 4A state tournament and golfers Avery Gowin and Cambria Neenan were the District 24-4A individual medalists and advanced to the Class 4A Region III tournament where they shot a 188 and 179, respectively. In powerlifting, Abby Smith, who has two regional titles, returned to the state meet for the fourth consecutive year and finished 13th in the 123-pound division. Maddi Moise returned to the state meet where she was 10th in the 165-pound weight division before graduating with Smith. Rising junior Halle Maxwell came in 10th in the 105-pound weight division.

The Bulldogs also showed their depth of talent by winning a playoff game in football and three playoff series in baseball. But the shocker may have come in boys soccer where the Bulldogs, who entered the Class 4A playoffs as District 25’s fourth place team, defeated San Antonio Davenport 3-1 in double overtime to win their first bi-district title in the sport. Brady Rygaard took the Class 4A state silver medal in the pole vault, while Brayden Hill also competed in the event. Grant Jones was sixth in the long jump, and Victor Aviles, who was sick during the meet, finished eighth in the 800 meters. Aviles was seeking a second state title in the event and his first in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters but scratched in both races.

Those results illustrate the athletes and coaches took to heart the motto of the girls basketball team for the season — Make It Count.

“It’s been a really good run for us,” girls athletic coordinator Rick Gates said. “We have all our sports playing at a high level. I don’t take that for granted at all. I know there are lots of places that don’t have that success. Every team we play practices as much (as we do), and they’re doing everything they can to win. We don’t take wins for granted at all. It takes work and effort to win.”

One trait of an elite program is to average a large number of victories consistently over seasons, no matter the number of great athletes who graduate. In that sense, the Lady Dawgs continue to be among the best. This year’s senior class was beyond impressive with at least a half a dozen signing National Letters of Intent to play collegiate ball. They are MaeSyn Gay to Hardin-Simmons University in basketball, Amelia Griffin to the University of Texas at Dallas for soccer, Camrynn Gutherie to Florida Atlantic University in softball, Juliet Morales to Huston-Tillotson University for soccer, Kodi Opperman to Schreiner University for soccer and equestrian, and Zaria Solis to Texas Lutheran University for volleyball.

Another big reason for their continued success is because there’s a sense of inclusivity in the locker room where players are welcoming, Gates said. Volleyball and girls track and field head coach Crystal Shipley said Gay and Solis were encouragers and uplifted their teammates. She noted that if they passed a compliment to a teammate or an underclassmen, that impact was immeasurable to those athletes.

“I knew they had a lot of talent,” Gates said, “I felt like we had older players who helped them understand the work ethic and how hard you had to practice — come in and learn those things and the willingness to learn those things. Our older girls, including Zaria and MaeSyn, learned from the girls who came before them. They did a really good job of doing that. I think that brings a team together. Everyone has their own role to play.”

Gates noted that before the class of 2024 entered the ninth grade, the basketball program was “a bunch of really good guards.” And as Gay and Solis grew, the team developed an inside game to utilize the two. And a shift in mentality to be balanced in scoring paved the way for where the program is today.

“The players understood how we were going to be the most successful and carried it out,” he said. “Individual sports knew what they had. On the girls side, I thought we’d be competitive as far as winning district championships in most everything. I thought we took advantage of the talent and did a great job.”

The Bulldogs had several sign to play on the next level, too. They are Hill to Stephen F. Austin as a pole vaulter, Grant Jones is a football preferred walk-on at Abilene Christian University, Dash Denton signed to play baseball for Rock Valley College in Rockford, Ill., and Kade Shaw signed to play baseball for Temple College.

Kurt Jones, who retired as the athletic director at the end of this school year, noted that during the football season, he and his son, Grant, had chats on several topics including the team and the upcoming opponent. The conversations toward the end of the season ended with a question.

“We talked a lot going into this year about this senior group,” he said. “When are you going to go win a game that people don’t expect you to win? It had been awhile since we did. It had been awhile since Burnet was a true underdog.”

Those victories came in back-to-back weeks against Fischer Canyon Lake, which entered the season as the defending district champion, and Davenport. The Bulldogs were magnificent in winning both contests on the road.

“This senior class was ready to step it up a notch or two and take it to a level they hadn’t been at in awhile,” Kurt Jones said.

“We’re proud of all of our sports and their achievements,” Gates said. “Obviously we’ll be competitive moving forward. We definitely have some work to do and continue to do as far as maintaining the success we’ve enjoyed. We don’t take any of our success for granted. There are so many places that don’t make it to the playoffs.”

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CAPTION: The 2024 Burnet High School track and field teams wear their medals and display the district championship plaques. File photo