At just 13 years old, Apopka’s own Keira Druck continues to climb swimming’s national ladder. The Lake Brantley High School freshman capped off her season with top 10 national rankings in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle long course events.  

She placed seventh and eighth, and also received her Florida Zone Team certificate at the annual Florida Swimming Awards Banquet on Oct. 4. 

For Druck, it’s another milestone in a long, dedicated journey. A year ago, she was making headlines for her state and regional success with Patriot Aquatics in Longwood. Now, she trains with the Windermere Lakers, one of the top club programs in Central Florida — a move her mother called “the next level up.” 

“It’s really different when you go to high school,” Keira said. “The coaching goals are very different. It’s a big change from middle school and club to switching to high school. It’s a lot of fun being in a new season.” 

Joining a new club team brought its own adjustments. Druck said the transition to Windermere Lakers meant learning new training styles and building new friendships. 

“The practices are very different and harder in general,” she said. “They put a lot on paper, and it’s hard to read out because there’s just a lot of changes.” 

Facing those challenges paid off. Druck’s hard work produced one of her best seasons yet, earning national recognition in two long-distance events. What’s more surprising? She said the races that landed her among the country’s best felt smooth. 

“When I swam those and got top 10 nationally, it felt like I was going easy — not really easy, but I’ve tried harder in the past,” Druck said. “At Flags, I was trying my absolute hardest and was so out of breath. But when I got those top 10 swims, I wasn’t that out of breath.” 

Distance races have become Druck’s specialty, from 200- and 400-meter pool races to the grueling open-water 5K. She said the 800-meter freestyle is her favorite event — though that wasn’t always the case. 
 
“A year before, I hated it,” she said with a laugh. “I wanted to get out halfway through. But as soon as I finished that race this time, I was like, that’s literally my favorite race in the whole world.” 

Balancing her new schedule as a freshman and full-time swimmer hasn’t been easy. Between virtual classes and a heavy meet schedule that can sometimes include five meets in a seven-day span, Druck said she’s been doing her best to manage her time and energy. 

“It’s hard to keep up when there’s a meet every week,” she said. “One week I had five meets, and the last one was on Sunday. So with school the next day I was really tired and didn’t have a break to just sleep the whole day.” 

Despite the workload, Druck continues to set new goals. She recently earned her Futures cuts in two events, qualifying her for next year’s USA Swimming Futures Championships, one step below Junior Nationals. 

“Futures is the one I was most excited for,” she said. “Not many kids my age imagine doing that. I trained all season trying my hardest to get it, and when I finally did, it felt amazing.” 

Looking ahead, Druck has her sights set on even bigger milestones. She is aiming for a trip to Winter Junior Nationals, another run at Open Water Nationals in Virginia, and, down the road, the Olympic Trials. 

“The longest-term goal is probably getting to Olympic Trials and possibly making the Olympics at some point,” she said. “I don’t want the practices to get easier… If I miss practice I feel like I’m falling behind. I want to keep pushing myself.” 

When it comes to college, she is aiming for a Division I scholarship with any school. Druck said if she had to choose, it would be Stanford or Texas—two of the top swimming programs in the country.  

Over the next five weeks, Keira will be in the high school championship series where she hopes to qualify through the conference, district, regional, and into the state tournament.