Conestoga swimmer Brendan Burns is Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week
The Conestoga senior was named Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet at the PIAA 3A state championships for the second year in a row. He won his third consecutive gold medal in the 100 fly, breaking his own state record with a time of 46.79; then the following day captured his second straight gold medal in the 100 back. The University of Indiana commit has won 13 state medals in his four-year Conestoga career. He set a National Interscholastic public high school record Jan. 15 at Garnet Valley in the 200 free (1:48.47), and has qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials in the 200 butterfly. Outside of the pool, Burns participates in the school’s broadcast journalism club, known as Good Morning Stoga.
Q: You broke your own state record in the 100 fly with a time of 46.79. In the prelims your time was 48.11. What was particularly working well for you in the final? What was your first reaction when you realized you had broken your own state record?
A: In prelims I definitely held back to save energy for finals and in finals I just went for it. I knew I was capable of going under 47 so I held nothing back and was thrilled when I touched the wall first for the third year in a row with a new state record. Although I was disappointed to have missed out on the NFHS record of 46.31 and US National Team member Jack Saunderson’s Bucknell pool record of 46.55, I was still happy to be under 47 with no shave or rest for this meet.
Q: The next day you successfully defended your state title in the 100 back. What was your most vivid memory of that event? What was your biggest key to success that day?
A: My most vivid memory of the 100 back was how painful it was. My legs were absolutely spent by the last 25. However, I had experimented with a new aspect of my meet warmup that focuses solely on underwaters (3-4 25s underwater kick aka “shooters”) and I would definitely say that that saved me from a potentially terrible race. Above all, I was just relieved to win my third title in 3 years.
Q: Which of your 13 state medals means the most to you and why?
A: I believe that all medals are important because they all have a memory and a lesson behind them but my favorite is definitely my gold in the 100 fly from this year. Going out my senior year with a state record in my best (high school) event was definitely a fairy-tale ending, especially considering my progression in the event from freshman year. I’ve grown a lot since taking bronze in 2016 and that medal is a symbol of my development as a person and swimmer.
Fun facts – Brendan Burns
Favorite book: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Favorite author: Roald Dahl
Favorite TV show: Seinfeld, Rick and Morty, or Friends
Favorite movie: The Godfather, The Dark Knight, or Rocky
Favorite athlete: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, or Aaron Judge
Favorite pre-meet pump-up song: Millidelphia by Meek Mill ft. Swizzbeats
Favorite team: New York Yankees, New England Patriots, Indiana Hoosiers
Favorite place to visit: Maui – “Really, any and all beaches.”
Favorite pre-meet meal: Pasta with red sauce and sausage/meatballs/chicken, Caesar salad
Family members: parents Eric and Heather, sister Delaney – “All of them are swimmers, Laney is a freshman at ‘Stoga.”
(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)
