Four Burnet High School seniors signed to compete on the collegiate level May 6. They are football player Johnny Charron basketball player Sierra Schaefer and swimmers Levi Kleen and Caroline Lunsford.
Charron signed as an offensive lineman with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, one of the top NCAA Division III programs in the country.
“It’s a great opportunity to go and get to play ball,” Burnet football head coach Ben Speer said. “That’s pretty great.”
The 6-foot, 3-inch Charron weighs 265 pounds and has big hands and a good frame to add more weight, Speer said.
“He definitely can use more development,” he said. “His measurables are good to see on film. He does work hard and continues to get better. He’s growing physically and mentally. Coaches will develop his game.”
Speer believes Mary Hardin-Baylor coaches will put him in as a regular contributor in two years.
“It’ll take him a couple of years to figure things out,” he said. “He practices and works hard – they’ll appreciate that. It’s a testament to him. He’s a powerlifter and gets his work done. He’s very intelligent and coachable. He’s a great kid. He’s done a tremendous job working for us. It’s a good opportunity for him.”
Charron told the Burnet staff he wanted to play college football and is obtaining that goal.
“We’re excited for him and excited for us,” Speer said. “It shows kids in the program to go ahead and do things right, it can pay off. We’re excited for him to get to work with the freshmen and spend time on the junior varsity get better.”
Schaffer signed to play basketball for Schreiner University, recruiting her as a small forward.
“She’s smart enough to create her role,” Lady Dawgs head coach Doug Messer said. “She’s about winning. She’s a real winner and hates losing. She’s fun to be around. She likes to kid and tease.”
But she knows when to make the switch on the court, he added.
“One of her best assets for us is top of the key all by herself about to shoot a 3-pointer,” the coach said. “She’s licking her chops.”
She has been named to just about every academic all-state team in the state, which considers a four-year grade point average and what athletes do in their sports.
“She cares about her grades,” Messer said.
In addition, Schaefer is the president of the Interact Club, which devotes itself to service.
He noted that four years ago, Schaffer was known as “a dominant shooter and a 3-point shooter.”
“From those early years till now, she has evolved,” said Messer, pointing out Schaffer is comfortable defending just about every position and looks to contribute in other ways on the offensive end.
“She has become a complete player,” he said. “She can play with her back against the basket, she can guard the bigs. She has over 100 blocked shots and over 800 points.”
What’s even more impressive is those stats happened while playing with standouts MaeSyn Gay, Sydne Massoletti and Zaria Solis.
“MaeSyn and Sydne are 1,000-point scorers, and she still scored,” the coach said. “I’m excited for her.”
Lunsford signed with Ouchita Baptist University, while Kleen is attending McMurray University.
Lunsford signed with Burnet head coach Nolan Gerfers’ alma mater as a 100-yard freestyle and a 100-yard backstroke specialist.
“She did all the work,” Gerfers said. “Her times showed that. She’s a good athlete. She put in a lot of work.”
He knew pretty quickly she had the qualities college programs want outside of her times. Collegiate athletes must be able to do well in the classroom as well as in the pool and embrace the intense workouts and preparations that come with them.
“You have what it takes to be a college swimmer,” Gerfers recalled telling Lunsford. “She’s extremely dedicated. She sets a goal and she sees it through.”
She plans to major in nursing.
Kleen “is just as dedicated as Caroline,” Gerfers said, adding he went to the Bulldog to ask if he wanted to swim on the next level.
“He works hard,” Gerfers said. “He’s continued to progress so well.”
He will swim the 500yard freestyle and the 2,000-yard individual medley.
Kleen took his time in making a decision, so much so that his coach basically said “if you want to go, I need to know now.”
“He toured a few schools and chose Mc-Murry cause he wanted to stay close to family,” Gerfers said.
He will major in technology.
Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalk-Talk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojennifer@ yahoo.com
