Senior cousins set bar high

“They raised the bar.”
Now that’s an understatement if there ever was one.
Before Anne Vormohr and Sophie Bader entered Jay County High School during the fall of 2012, the Patriot girls swim team had never had a state medalist. It had never won a sectional championship.
In 37 seasons, seven girls swimmers had qualified for the state finals in individual events. None had advanced from Friday’s preliminaries to compete in the top 16 on Saturday, let alone made a real run at the top eight required to earn a spot on the podium.
Vormohr and Bader, who are cousins and best friends, were good enough to be among the best in JCHS history the moment their names were placed on the roster. They proved as much in the first high school meet, each breaking a school record at the Norwell Invitational in 2012.
That started a pattern that continued throughout their four years, with Bader breaking a pair of records Friday night during the preliminary round of the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals.
“These girls have done more in four years than any in the previous 30 years,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. “I don’t care what program it is, there’s not many programs that can say that they’ve had the consistency and the improvement that those two girls have given Jay County High School athletics and Jay County swimming. … It sets the bar a lot higher for those that are coming in the future. They’ve put us on the map … now it’s up to the kids following them to keep us there.”
Bader leaves Jay County with four school records — 1 minute, 55.31 seconds, in the 200-yard freestyle, 2:05.77 in the 200 individual medley, 56.05 in the 100 butterfly and 5:14.57 in the 500 freestyle. Vormohr has three more — 23.88 in the 50 freestyle, 52.18 in the 100 freestyle and 55.79 in the 100 backstroke.
The only individual swimming record they don’t hold is the 100 breaststroke mark that belongs to Sophie’s younger sister Alex.
Vormohr and the Bader sisters also hold all three relay records, having teamed with 2015 JCHS graduate Katy Smeltzer in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle and senior Ashley Mark in the 200 freestyle.
With the cousins leading the way, Jay County won its first sectional championship in 2015. It repeated that feat this season.
In their four years, Vormohr and Bader not only qualified for the state finals in the maximum number of events — 16 apiece — but proved they belonged there. They combined to advance to Saturday’s championship and/or consolation races nine times in individual events.
Vormohr became the first Patriot to earn a state medal when she finished fifth in the backstroke as a freshman. She did it again as a junior.
Bader joined her this year with an eighth-place finish in the butterfly.
Together they led four relay teams to top-16 finishes, including ninth in the 200 medley last season.
But there is more to them than just record times, sectional trophies and state accolades. They will be missed just as much for their leadership in practice, their positive attitudes and their drive to succeed.
They were athletes who were easy to root for, because they approach athletics the right way.
“It’s been my complete pleasure for the past four years to get to know these girls,” said Slavik. “I’ve coached some great swimmers in my 20 years of doing this, and probably none of them would rank where these two rank.
“It’s rough losing kids like that. … They will definitely be missed.”
Vormohr and Bader finished their high school swimming careers Saturday.
They took Monday off; no practice for the first time in months.
Today, they’re back in the pool, back at work for the club season that culminates with the Indiana Swimming Senior State Spring Championships March 11 through 13 at Pike High School in Indianapolis.
That reality says more about their drive, their work ethic, their character than school records and state medals ever could. After all that time, all that effort, all that work, they took just one day off as a reward.
And the bar rises higher.