Jim Agnew

Anchor of the Tribe: Caroline Burgeson Leads Swimming’s Push for CAA Crown

2/10/2026 11:00:00 AM

By: Shelton Moss, W&M Media Relations

To win a swimming championship takes a true team effort. It's a four-day grind consisting of 36 individual and relay events in a humid cauldron of noise.

However, if William & Mary women's swimming is to capture the CAA crown this year, there's no doubt that Caroline Burgeson will play a leading role.

Burgeson is the Tribe's relay anchor. A four-time conference champion in relay events and one of the fastest sprint freestylers in the league, the senior is the key piece to William & Mary's bid to win the CAA women's swimming championship for the first time since 2022.

"For me, I'm kind've buzzing with a lot more adrenaline when I have relays," Burgeson said. "It's so much fun for me now, and our relays have been performing so great. I couldn't ask for a better team to go into my last CAA's with."

Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Burgeson has come a long way since stepping onto campus in the fall of 2022.

During her recruitment process, she narrowed down her list to three schools: Boston College, Georgetown, and William & Mary. Though the facilities at other schools were impressive, the team culture at W&M proved to be the separating factor.

"When I came here, I was overwhelmed with positivity," Burgeson said. "This is clearly a place where people build each other up and want to be part of the process. I feel like that's something that everyone else who has committed here has felt."

But the adjustment to collegiate swimming was difficult. Though Burgeson helped the 400 freestyle relay team to a podium finish at the CAA Championships as a freshman, she fell far short of qualifying for finals in both individual freestyle events, along with the 200 free relay.

"I think freshman year was one of my toughest years," Burgeson recalled. "I didn't really have a mindset of how to approach racing and dual meets. Just how long the season can be and how mentally taxing it can be — I knew it was gonna be tough physically, but I don't think I was prepared for mentally tough it was going to be as well."

Over the next two years, Burgeson worked on improving her mindset. The Arlington, Va., native credits assistant coach Mike Williams with helping her overcome those mental battles. When she reached a hard point in practice, she had to find the strength not to back off but to push herself "past the point of toughness."

As Tribe head coach Nate Kellogg says: get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Since then, Burgeson has blossomed. As a sophomore in 2024, she anchored the first-place 400 medley relay at the CAA Championships before winning three gold medals in the 200 medley, 200 free, and 400 free relays last year. The 200 free relay time of 1:38.48 was a school, meet, and conference record.

"I love relays," she said. "I've always been a relay swimmer, since before I can remember. That's been something I've been lucky enough to do since I'm a sprinter."

Gamer Mindset
The anchor of the relay — the one who goes last — is typically the fastest and must have the mental fortitude to close a gap if her team is trailing when the pressure is at its highest. That's where Burgeson's skillset is so valuable: not only does she possess elite top-end speed, but her killer mindset allows her to be unfazed in the face of a deficit.

The coaches call her a "gamer."

"I always go faster on relays. It's because I know I can't let these three other girls down. These three girls have put in so much work, so I can't let them down. It motivates me."

The group has various mental tricks to stay locked in: a hype-up speech, a hand-swirl, or compartmentalizing the distances to make them seem shorter. Burgeson is buzzing with adrenaline on meet days, but she's learned to smile a little bit.

"I've always been laughing and smiling before relays," Burgeson said. "It's so much fun for me now, and our relays have been performing so great."

"We tell all the underclassmen before their first dual meets, if they're ever scared, to look at the sideline, because there's 40-plus people cheering. You're not alone, you're doing it with 40 other people. You're not swimming the race, we're all swimming the race."

But it takes four to make a relay. Burgeson has a close rapport with classmates Lauren Klinefelter and Lindsay Juhlin, along with junior Julie Addison, who together constitute the 200 medley relay that ranks second in the CAA.

"I'm definitely super close with those three. There's been times where we haven't practiced a relay start before a meet," Burgeson said. "[At Davidson], we didn't practice a single relay start. I was like, 'Oh Mike, should we run through this one?' And he's like, 'If there are any people [who] I'm least concerned about their chemistry, it's you four. You guys are gonna be just fine.'"

Caroline Burgeson

Burgeson, Klinefelter, and Juhlin are part of a senior class that has left a noticeable mark on the program. Juhlin is a two-time CAA Champion; fellow senior Sophia Heilen is a five-time champion and 2023 CAA Rookie of the Year.

"Our confidence levels as a class are really high," Burgeson said. "Something that we began to do really well especially as we became upperclassmen was walking around the pool deck kind've like we owned it: hands on our hips, chest out, chins up. Not in a cocky way, but in a way that we were confident in ourselves."

As a testament to the program's culture under Kellogg, nine of the 10 women in this year's senior class who came in as freshman in 2022 are still with the team. Over the last four years, the program has a 95% retention rate for underclassmen.

"Swimming can be an individual sport if you let it," Burgeson said. "What's unique about our team is that we don't let it be individual. We look at the side of the pooldeck knowing that we're doing this. You're never isolated or racing by yourself."

Bringing the Energy
William & Mary swimming meets are a raucous endeavor. It's not just because of the acoustics in the tightly-packed Bee McLeod Rec Center, but because the Tribe has made it a point of pride to always be the loudest team on the pool deck. W&M swimmers will never be seen lounging around or scrolling on their phones. Every teammate stands and cheers loudly from start to finish.

"We're incredibly loud," Burgeson noted. "I've had parents come to my meets over the years and just be blown away by the level of energy at the swim meet. We're cheering the loudest at every meet and that's not a question."

The women's team has its sights set on winning the CAA this season. Because W&M does not have a diving program, the swimmers must accumulate even more points than would otherwise be necessary to win. Despite the built-in disadvantage, Burgeson is still confident in her group.

"My confidence in this team is pretty unmatched. I definitely think we're the best swim team in the CAA. Even without diving … I think we can out-swim other teams."

The pitch for fans to come to meets is simple: they'll put on a show. In every lane, across all 36 events at the CAA Championships in February, it is guaranteed that the Green & Gold will voice the most boisterous cheering section.

"We spend a lot of time cheering for each other. We always have a good time."

"And we're fast."

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