End of an era

As Alex Bader turned around after congratulating her sister, her cheeks were red, tears streaming down.

When Mara Bader got out of the pool after her cool-down lap, Alex wrapped her in a hug and didn’t let go.

Moments later, from his spot on the announcers stand, their dad Christian could barely speak as he announced the top eight, choking back tears as he finished: “First place … Jay County … Mara Bader.”

Her win in the 100-yard breaststroke Saturday marked the final race in which a Bader will compete in the Jay County High School pool, ending an era for Patriot swimming.

“I knew this was going to happen, but it’s different in the moment,” Alex said, tears flowing again.

The whole family was on hand — mom Missy and sister Sophie timing in lane four, sisters Eliza and Alex timing in lane five, Christian announcing — to watch, cheer and cry.

“Seeing Mara get out of the pool after the 100 breaststroke was tough, especially when the water works started,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. “Eleven years straight of having a Bader … on the team is kind of special. You build a relationship with families in this community. We spend a lot of time together. And it’s hard to realize that we’ve come to the end of it.”

It’s not unusual to have a run of sibling athletes. It is rare, though, for four sisters — 2016 graduate Sophie, 2018 graduate Alex, 2021 graduates Eliza and Mara — to so dominate their sport for so long.

When Mara launches herself from the block to start the 200 individual medley Friday night at the Indiana University Natatorium, it will mark the 11th straight year in which a Bader has represented Jay County at the state finals. During many of those years, there was more than one of them:

2013 — Sophie in 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle

2014 — Sophie in 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle

2015 — Sophie in 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley; Alex in 100 breaststroke and 200 freestyle

2016 — Sophie in 100 butterfly and 200 IM; Alex in 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle

2017 — Alex in 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle

2018 — Alex in 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle; Eliza in 100 butterfly

2019 — Eliza in 100 butterfly

2020 — Eliza in 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle; Mara in 200 IM

2021 — Eliza in 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle; Mara in 200 IM

2022 — Mara in 100 breaststroke and 200 IM

2023 — Mara in 100 breaststroke and 200 IM

“Everybody talks about how Indiana is a basketball state, but that’s never been the case for our family,” said Alex. “I don’t think any of us has ever played a game of basketball in our life.

“Ever since Sophie was 4, we’ve all started swimming at the age of 4,” she added. She said during her career swimming at Ball State University — Sophie swam there too, and Eliza does currently — she realized the rarity of their swimming bond. “Not many people get to say that. … It’s been fun. I’m glad it’s been something that we get to share for such a long time.”

For the state finals, Mara is seeded 28th in the 100 breaststroke, her signature event. With a berth in the championship or consolation finals unlikely — the top 16 advance to compete in those races Saturday, and the No. 16 seed was more than three seconds ahead of her based on sectional times — she is looking more toward individual improvement.

She’d like to climb from her seed position and, more importantly, she’d like to break the 1:07 mark.

“Since it’s my last high school meet ever, (my goal is) just to go out there,” said Mara, “have a best time and end it all doing the best that I can and leaving it all out in the pool.”

Her sectional time was 1 minute, 8.91 seconds, and she went a 1:08.28 when she placed 28th in the state finals in the event last season.

“The main goal is just to improve, see what she can do,” said Slavik. “She’s got to work on her (breaststroke) tempo, getting her tempo high enough, getting the length of her stroke and the height of her recovery all laid out. … She’s been losing her legs at about 80 yards. We need that to be at 100 yards.”

Mara’s goals are similar for the 200 IM, in which she has advanced to the state finals all four seasons. She comes in as the No. 31 seed out of 32 swimmers and just wants to swim as fast as she can.

While Friday night at the state finals will end Mara’s career — she doesn’t plan on following in her sisters’ wake to swim at Ball State — the sectional meet hit she and her family hard because it was at Jay County.

“I hate to even say this is our home away from home, because … we were here more than we were actually at home during the months of October to March,” said Sophie. “This place, I can say for all of us, shaped who we are as individuals.”

Sophie and Alex were part of the Patriots’ first sectional championship team in 2015. (There have been five more since then.) Eliza’s teams were sectional and Allen County Athletic Conference champions all four years.

“This place has been my whole life,” Eliza said. “I’ve basically just grown up here. It’s bittersweet coming to an end.”

Sophie, a nurse at IU Health Jay, had been scheduled to work Saturday but was able to trade the shift in order to be there for her youngest sister’s final sectional meet. Eliza had the weekend open on the BSU swimming schedule schedule. (“I’m grateful I did not have a meet today,” she said. “I may have had to skip that.”) Those circumstances allowed the whole family to share in the final moment Saturday.

“The first time I made it down the pool all the way by myself was here in this pool … 14 years ago,” said Mara. “Just knowing that I’ve grown up here, this was my second home my whole life. I wouldn’t have wanted it any way else.”

The whole group will be at the IU Natatorium again Friday night to cheer her on. Given how the youngest feels about her time spent in the JCHS pool, that is appropriate.

“My favorite memories,” Mara said, “would be any memory where all six of us were here together.”