With 60 members on the 2013-2014 swim and dive team, goals have been set high by swimmers.

“My goals are to win districts and make it to states,” junior Casey Phelps said.

Many swimmers have made their goal to win districts and reach states. Swimmers have been working hard to reach this goal, like participating in off-season clinics to prepare.

“I did high school prep over the summer,” senior Nora Lyle said.

On Dec. 6, LB opened up its season against Lee. The boys’ team beat Lee with a score of 243-69. The girls’ team won as well, with a score of 219-99.

In swimming, scoring works in two different ways.  In relays, if a swimmer comes in first place, the team receives 10 points, if a swimmer comes in second place, the team receives 5 points, and if a swimmer comes in  third  place, the team receives 3 points.  In individual races, if a swimmer places first they receive 8 points, if a swimmer places second place they receive 6 points, and goes on a down sliding scale to eighth place.

Coming up, the Bruins will swim against South County, West Springfield, West Potomac, Woodson, Annandale and close out the season against T.C. Williams.

The road to a district championship will not be an easy one, but coach Scott Darwin said that the Bruins have a shot at districts.

In order to have a chance to win districts, Lake Braddock must first compete against Woodson on Jan. 10 and West Springfield on Dec. 14, which is the Bruins’ biggest competition entering this season. Woodson placed fifth in girls’ states with 111.5 points and sixth in boys’ states last year with 122 points. West Springfield placed fourth in girls’ states with 113 points and 16th in boys’ states last year with 53 points. For comparison, LB placed 29th in girls’ states with 21 points and 20th in boys’ states last year with 42 points.

“I think Woodson is our biggest competition because they have won a bunch of years in a row,” senior Ryan Krogel said.

Even with the tough competition, Darwin still firmly believes that the Bruins can win districts.

“It’ll be tough for the girls [to win districts], but the boys have a good chance to win it,” Darwin said.