Medal expectations

Alex Bader went to the 2017 state meet as an afterthought.

Seeded 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke, she wasn’t expected to be a contender for a state medal.

She confounded those expectations.

Then a junior, she shattered her own school record of 1 minute, 05.2 seconds, by more than a second to grab eighth place and a guaranteed state medal in the preliminaries before jumping up one more spot to seventh during the finals.

As she leads a group of six Patriots to the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals this weekend, Bader has solidified herself as one of the best breaststrokers in the state. But her coach still believes the senior is primed to exceed expectations at Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.

“I think she’s going to surprise people again this year,” said Matt Slavik. “I think she’s been underrated.”

Based on sectional times, Bader is rated — seeded — eighth out of the 32 athletes in the 100 breaststroke heading into the competition that begins with preliminaries at 6 p.m. Friday. The top 16 swimmers from the preliminary round advance to Saturday afternoon’s finals and consolation finals, with the top eight guaranteeing themselves a state medal.

Bader will be in lane three in the third heat for her signature race after posting a time of 1:04.78 seconds, to cruise to the sectional championship in her home pool. That time is just one hundredth of a second faster than No. 9 seed Miya Wai of Fishers, and two other competitors came in at 1:04.89 at their sectional meets.

Slavik expects her not only to hold a spot in the top eight, but to move up the list. He points out that her seed time is 0.42 seconds faster than a year ago and that she hasn’t yet had to push herself to win the race this year.

“She just has to go out and swim the way we’ve been practicing,” he said. “She hasn’t been tested in the breaststroke yet. She’s held back a little bit on her race so far.”

How high could she climb the podium?

Well, the top is out of reach. That spot belongs to Yorktown’s Emily Weiss, a 2020 Olympic hopeful who last season broke the state record held by 2016 Olympic gold medalist Lilly King. She’s seeded first, nearly three seconds ahead of No. 2 seed Aislinn Walsh of St. Joseph (South Bend).

But the next two swimmers — Franklin Community freshman Kabria Chapman and Valparaiso senior Elizabeth Simac — aren’t out of reach at 1:03.6 and 1:03.78 respectively.

Slavik said he believes Bader is capable of reaching the top four.

Her focus? Making it back for the finals and then letting the chips fall where they may.

“You kind of just have to push (Weiss) out of the way and push some of those other girls that are really fast out of the way just because you know that they’re so fast and so good that they’re going to make it,” said Bader. “So you have to worry about the other girls that are right on the bubble of making (the finals) or not.”

Bader is on the bubble of making the consolation finals for her other event, coming in as the No. 17 seed in the 50 freestyle with her sectional time of 23.91. She expects she’ll have to break the school record — 23.88 by her cousin Anne Vormohr — to have a chance to make it to Saturday.

The remaining seedings show Jay County’s swimmers, and South Adams junior Ashley LeFever, as longshots.

Slavik’s highest hopes are in the 200-yard freestyle, where the team of junior Vivienne Kunkler, freshmen Ashlyn Dow and Eliza Bader, and Alex Bader are the No. 30 seed. He points out that their best time of the season — 1:40.1 — was much faster than their sectional time of 1:42.44 and would bump them up seven spots in the seedings. He’s hoping they could sneak in to the consolation finals with a great race Friday night.

Jay County’s team of senior Elizabeth McDowell, Dow and the Bader sisters is the No. 29 seed for the 200 medley relay.

Individually, Eliza Bader owns the No. 29 seed in the 100 butterfly, and Erica Hathaway is No. 32 in the 500 freestyle.

Regardless of finish, Slavik sees the meet as a chance to learn for the junior, sophomore and two freshmen who will be returning next year.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for there kids to experience,” said Slavik. “It gives them something to build on. It gives them something to shoot for next year.”

LeFever comes in at No. 25 in the 100 freestyle at 52.66 seconds after finishing 27th in the event a year ago. The No. 16 seed is Franklin Community’s Gracey Payne at 52.01.

“At this point, we’re talking already about Saturday,” said SAHS coach Andy Lehman following the sectional meet. “We’re hoping she makes it back to finals one way or another.

“She has been tapering for state really more so than sectional.”

If Bader is able to repeat her medal performance from a year ago, she will match Vormohr as the only two-time state medalists in swimming in the history of the program. (The only other swimmer to earn even one state medal was Alex’s sister, Sophie, in 2016.)

“She’s been a great leader,” said Slavik. “And I think to polish off a great career would be fantastic to be on the podium again.”