SAUGATUCK, MI -- They are known as "The Braschlers," as if triplets Baye Lee, Jenna and Allie are one entity that has overtaken Saugatuck High School.

They've locked up the class president, vice-president and treasurer spots their senior year. And between them have been leads in school theater productions, lettered in three sports, and played four instruments in the school band.

They also dominate in academics, and will graduate later this month as the small school's top three scholars.

Not bad for sisters whose combined birth weight barely added up to one small baby when they were born 15 weeks premature on Oct. 20, 1997.

Each weighed less than 2 pounds, and were given survival rates between 50 to 70 percent.

They were kept in Butterworth Hospital's neonatal center, a precursor to DeVos Children's Hospital in downtown Grand Rapids, for a combined 333 days. During that time, there were two heart operations and one eye surgery -- all before their official Feb. 2, 1998 due date.

What may be most remarkable about these high-performing triplets is how much they have defied early medical predictions that they might struggle with a lifetime of health and cognitive issues. Instead, these girls have flourished just as well, if not better, than kids who got a full nine months to develop without having to share a womb.

"When they were in the hospital, we didn't know what kind of future they could expect," said their father, Dave Braschler. "It was such an unknown."

The future is bright for his daughters, who this fall are headed to colleges in different states on presidential scholarships.

TRIPLET FACTS

Baby A: Baye Lee

Birth weight: 1 pound, 6 ounces

Hospital care: Although the first to be released after 89 days, Baye Lee was airlifted back to the hospital for two more weeks after developing respiratory syntactical virus and remained there another two weeks. She was initially given a 60 percent survival rate.

School: Class president; singing and dancing talents have given her starring roles in school theater productions. She also plays clarinet and tenor saxophone and was on the softball team for three years.

Grades: 4.17 GPA with a 30 ACT score.

College: Accepted to honors program at Loyola in Chicago, where she will study nursing with plans to be a neonatal nurse.

Baby B: Jenna

Birth weight: 1 pound, 4 ounces

Hospital care: In hospital for 139 days, Jenna underwent heart and eye surgery. Doctors gave her a 50/50 percent survival chance.

School: Class treasurer; plays piano; percussion in the school band, was on school softball team for two years and performed school plays.

Grades: 4.06 GPA with a 31 ACT score.

College: Plans to attend Olivet College to study writing and actuarial science.

Baby C: Allie

Birth weight: 1 pound, 11 ounces

Hospital care: During 100 days in hospital, underwent heart surgery. Doctors gave her a 70 percent survival chance.

School: Class vice president; runs cross country and track, plays alto sax in school band.

Grades: 4.16 GPA with a 32 ACT score.

College: Plans to attend Notre Dame to study pre-law or business.

They are purposely going in different directions, and are eager to carve out an identity as individuals.

The Braschler triplets don't look alike or really resemble sisters.

• Baye Lee, petite with bangs, has the performance gene. She's a singer and dancer, who snagged the starring parts in the school plays and musical. The first born is also first to answer questions directed to the triplets.

• Jenna, the quietest, has a raspy voice that her parents attribute to the breathing tubes that stayed in her tiny throat for her first four months of life. She was the smallest, at 1 pound, 4 ounces. Her mother gave her the godmother who prayed the most because Jenna's odds of surviving were just 50 percent. She has grown into an accomplished pianist, who plays percussion in the band.

• Allie, the only blonde of the three, is the youngest and most athletic. She was also the biggest baby, weighing in at 1 pound, 11 ounces. Her dad jokes she is the "bruiser" of the triplets, and the one he calls on to help him move heavy things.

Barrie Braschler, the girls' mother, says her pregnancy went smoothly until the 25th week when a cold turned into a staph infection and double pneumonia. Her oxygen levels dropped so low that doctors had no choice but to induce delivery.

3 strikes against them

The girls had three strikes against them: Extremely low birth weight; born premature, late in the second trimester; and as part of a multiple birth.

All three are high-risk factors, said Dr. Nancy Dodge, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician for 30 years.

For the last decade, she has overseen the neonatal follow-up program at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, one of the largest neonatal departments in the country.

"They are a good example that being born premature increases a child's risks for learning problems but does not predict them," said Dodge, who doesn't know the Braschlers personally.

Allie Braschler, the largest of the triplets, weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces when she was born. She is about a week old in the photo.

The majority - 85 percent -- of premature babies born under 3 pounds will have an IQ in the normal range, which is impressive considering that most of a baby's brain development happens in the last trimester.

Early intensive medical care has made a big difference in survival rates, and success rates later in life.

One study, released years ago, suggests that by the time premature babies turn 4, the biggest predictor of how they will do is their family.

"Do they have an education focus?" said Dodge. "It is the same things that determine how kids overall will do."

It's evident that Dave and Barrie Braschler put an emphasis on education.

The couple took to heart advice they were given to be proactive about their daughters' learning and put them in preschool when they were 3, Because of their fall birthday, the girls did the pre-kindergarten program Young Fives.

"When they went to kindergarten, it was their fourth year in school," Dave Braschler said.

Since then, education has continued to be a priority in the household.

The girls don't do their school work together, but homework is the first thing they do when they come home from school. The television is never on when the books are out, notes Barrie Braschler.

It isn't unusual for the sisters to spend an entire Saturday working on homework.

'How our brains work'

While they are disciplined about putting in the hours, learning has been easy for the girls.

"I think it's how our brains work," said Baye Lee. "We never struggle."

Each took four Advanced Placement classes, including calculus. They all scored a 30 or higher on their ACT tests, which puts them in the 95th percentile. And they did it without prepping, other than taking the test a few times.

"I think they always have a friendly competition to push themselves academically, and they each found different ways to push themselves," said Tim Travis, principal of Saugatuck's middle and high school. "I think that is their uniqueness. They have a built-in support system, and built-in competition. I don't think they can slack."

The triplets rose to the top of their senior class that will graduate about 50 students, mostly girls, on May 26.

Travis believes a small school setting has also contributed to the triplets' success, by letting them take part in more activities.

While "The Braschlers" dominating success might garner envy and disdain in a typical teen flick, the siblings are universally liked by classmates and teachers, according to their principal.

"They treat people well," Travis said. "They avoid the drama of high school."

The triplets aren't the first Braschler to soar at Saugatuck High School. Their older brother, Galib, who turns 21 this month, graduated at the top of his class in 2013, earning a scholarship to Notre Dame where he is majoring in American Studies, with plans to go into advertising.

He was adopted from Russia at 18 months old, just 10 months before his sisters were born.

"He's done well and we just followed him," Allie said.

Barrie Braschler credits her son for being the perfect big brother, who often helped out with his sisters and chauffeured them around as he got older.

"He looked out for them quite a bit," she said.

Like their kids, Dave and Barrie Braschler are hard-working and conscientious. She works through a Utah-based company as an online chat operator for Norwegian Cruise, which she does at home. He owns the Golden Brown Bakery in South Haven. It's been in the family since his father bought the now 78-year-old business in 1951.

The girls work there every summer, rising early to do the assembly-line work of making doughnuts and decorating cookies.

The family lives in Saugatuck during the school week, and in South Haven on the weekends and summer. This schedule lets them rent out their big-windowed home overlooking Goshorn Lake when Saugatuck turns into a popular tourist destination.

Tired of being grouped as one, the sisters are ready to make their mark as individuals.

Not that they haven't been trying for the last 18 years.

Each made their entrance into the world differently, their dad likes to point out. First born Baye Lee was delivered sideways, then Jenna feet-first in a breech position, and lastly, Allie emerged head-first.

They let their mom dress them in matching and color-coordinated outfits until about second grade before they started insisting on individual looks. By the third grade, they politely rebelled against sharing the same room. Allie began the revolt by relocating her night stand to the guest room. Soon, Baye Lee left for a bedroom that was being used for storage.

Barrie Braschler says she felt comfortable following her daughters' cues for independence when it came to their identity as triplets.

"I think I let them think for themselves," she said.

The teens say they are ready to close the chapter on the overachieving "Braschlers" as they head to college.

"Even though it's good, it's a lot to have to deal with," Jenna said.

Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.