Mary Fisher’s shoulders are the ones every Saline High School swim mom knows to peak over during the Hornets’ meets. Before computers tabulate the final score, she has already done the math.

During close meets, she bites her tongue and holds in her emotions. She doesn’t want to spoil it. She wants the celebration to be fresh after a Hornet victory is announced.

Standing poolside Thursday evening, Fisher lost that battle with emotions. It was only the first event of the night, the 200-yard individual medley relay, but her face was already flushed and tears were in her eyes.

Absent of pen or paper, Fisher was focused on the swimmers in lane six, but not so much the result. Swimming the lead off: James Fisher. Second leg: Mike Fisher. Third leg: R.J. Fisher. And the anchor: Kevin Fisher.

It was the Fisher brother relay.

Four years, four boys Mary Fisher only needs the help of a few toes to count how many months she wasn’t pregnant during a half-decade that produced four members of Saline’s top-ranked swim team.

R.J., an 18-year-old senior, is the oldest. Mike, a junior, is 17. James, a sophomore, is 16. And Kevin, a freshman, is 14.

“We tried to go to a restaurant once when they were little,” Mary recalls. Key word: Once.

“That was not so good. (Their teenage years) is easy in comparison to that. I’ve gotten used to basically living in a locker room.”

If those early years were the rough times, this season has been ultimate reward. While most parents sit in uncomfortable bleachers for entire weekends to see their sons compete in a few heats, there’s a Fisher in nearly every event.

“I don’t know how some parents come and watch just one event,” Mary says. “I guess I’ll find out soon.”

By Mary’s side, or behind the wheel of the family van, is her husband, Bob Fisher. Before swimming became the brothers’ unified passion, Bob ping-ponged them between baseball diamonds, ice rinks and pools.

The miles, equipment costs and time started to add up and Bob could barely keep straight where each boy was supposed to be. And, sometimes, he ended up at the wrong one.

“I eventually had to say enough is enough and put my foot down,” Bob says. “We had to pick one.”

The boys picked a swimming pool over the frozen pond. At least R.J., Mike and James did.

“You have three older brothers swimming, what else was I supposed to do?” asks Kevin.

A season together Before Thursday, it had been ten years since all four brothers had been in a relay together, but it had been part of the plan for quite some time.

“When we moved to Saline we realized that at some point we would all be going to Saline High School at the same time and thought, what would be better than having a relay with all Fishers on it?” says R.J. “It’s pretty awesome.”

With its four different strokes, no event is more appropriate for the Fishers than the medley relay.

“They’re such different kids, it’s not too hard to handle them different,” says Saline coach Todd Brunty. “I don’t know what the exact percentage of our team is, but they make up a good chunk of it, both as swimmers and their personalities and what they add to the team as individuals.”

Kevin, with his innocence and tolerance for ridicule, is the typical youngest. And, according to R.J. “a chick magnet.”

Mike is the charismatic alpha male while James - the self-proclaimed “obnoxious one” - tries to dethrone him every chance he gets.

One of their rare battles that Mary actually recalls with fondness is when James began to improve in Mike’s beloved backstroke when they were younger.

“Mike claimed it,” says Mary, “He told James, ‘Tell mom and dad you don’t want to do it anymore, that’s my stroke.’”

“I never went near it,” James says.

“I don’t really remember that, I mean it was a while ago,” Mike says with a devilish grin, but nevertheless uses the story as another reason to puff out his chest. “It was like, he was younger than me, so I threatened him a little bit.”

R.J. is the calm overseer - and, at times, instigator - of the sibling rivalry. But he’s hopelessly disadvantaged as a participant.

All the extra laps in the world will never add the five extra inches of height, or natural athleticism the genetic lottery afforded Mike and James.

“Whatever I become it’s because of hard work. Now these guys,” the diminutive R.J. says, pointing at his broad-shouldered brothers. “I’m not saying they don’t work hard. They work hard. But their talent certainly helps, too.”

The grace with which R.J. has handled his brothers’ eclipsing abilities is a special point of pride for Bob.

“It was tough at first, but I’ve learned to deal with it. And there are a few races where I’ll come close to them and that’ll feel pretty good,” R.J. says. “Everyone talks about how fast these two are, and how we wouldn’t be really good without these guys, so I guess being a part of that, it's something special, even though they’re beating me.”

Beneath James and Mike’s rivalry exists a bond much thicker than the water they compete in.

“It’s like you have your own support team that knows what you’re going through, and they’re always there with you,” Mike says. “(Even the rivalry) it’s kind of like going back and forth, the brotherly stuff that happens in any family. We’re pushing each other to do better.”

After Kevin touched the wall on the relay, Mary got a quick “teenager hug” from her sons, and they re-shifted their focus back to the meet at hand.

Maybe it didn’t hit them that it was likely the last time they’d all be competing together.

But Mom wept in the corner, fully aware that her dream season will soon come to a close.

“The biggest thing that makes our lives so special is that they’ve always been all together,” Mary says with a fresh coat of tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s just so awesome to see them support each other and always be there for each other, and I know every one of them did their absolute best in that race.

“I don’t imagine they would have missed this one for anything.”

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.