UKIAH — The Lake County Channel Cats stayed cool in the pool during last weekend”s sizzling “Splash Bash” swim meet hosted by the Ukiah Dolphin swim club. A fit and fast team of 15 Channel Cats raced the clock in this competitive event that saw over 230 swimmers representing 22 different teams from the North Coast and the greater Bay Area region.
The Cats placed well in several divisions. Several individuals tackled longer distances and improved their times in multiple events.
Among the top Channel Cats swimmers was Matteo Merodio, 16, who added two new PC-A times in the 100 butterfly and the 1,650 freestyle, also known as the mile swim. Later in the competition Merodio marked a Junior Olympic time of one minute, 7.88 seconds in the 100 breaststroke in the boys” 15-16 division.
Equally impressive, Lauren Rudnick, 10, dialed up the speed and stamina to clock new PC-A level times in five different events, including the 50 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 individual medley (IM) and 200 IM in the girls” 10-and-under division.
Charlie Adams, 9, collected a new PC-A time in the 200 IM for boys 10 and under.
Channel Cats achieving new PC-B times included Allison Hanson (13-14 girls) in the 200 breaststroke; Sarah Merodio (13-14 girls) in the 200 backstroke; and Roman Uribe (8-and-under boys) in the 25 and 50 freestyle events.
The Channel Cats swim daily at the Westshore Pool in Lakeport from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Summer session is currently under way and a few spaces are still available for children who would like to learn to swim, improve swimming skills or practice competitive swimming. Those interested in Channel Cats activities should contact Jen Hanson at 263-3131 or view the Web site at www.lakecountychannelcats.com.
Competitive awards by age category at Ukiah were as follows:
15-16 boys: Matteo Merodio, firsts in 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 IM and 400 IM; seconds in 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly; thirds in 50 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle.
15-16 girls: Chelo Lundquist-Krag, seconds in 200 breaststroke and 200 IM; thirds in 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle.
13-14 boys: Jesse Lundquist-Krag, third in 100 freestyle.
13-14 girls: Sarah Merodio, sixths in 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle; seventh in 200 breaststroke; Allison Hanson, fifths in 1,650 freestyle and 200 butterfly; eighths in 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly.
11-12 boys: Dylan Wright, ninth in 50 butterfly.
11-12 girls: Kim English, fifth in 200 freestyle; sevenths in 100 butterfly and 200 IM; Koren English, seventh in 200 freestyle.
9-10 boys: Charlie Adams, first in 50 freestyle, seconds in 100 butterfly and 200 IM; thirds in 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly and 100 IM.
9-10 girls: Lauren Rudnick, seconds in 200 freestyle and 200 IM; third in 500 freestyle; fourths in 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke; Danielle Erickson, fifth in 100 butterfly; Nikki Hanson, 12th in 200 freestyle.
7-8 boys: Roman Uribe, third in 25 butterfly; fourths in 100 freestyle and 25 backstroke.
7-8 girls: Rainey Vanoven, fifth in 25 breaststroke; Hailey Wright, 15th in 25 backstroke.
6-and-under girls: Robin Adams, second in the 50 breaststroke; thirds in 25 freestyle, 25 backstroke, 50 backstroke and 25 breaststroke.
RudnickButterfly: Lauren Rudnick swimming the Butterfly portion of the 200IM. She would finish with an “A” time in this event!
UkiahGroup: Back row, left to right: Coach Agustin Merodio, Sarah Merodio, Chelo Lundquist Krag, Kimberly English, Matteo Merodio, Allison Hanson, Koren English, Dylan Wright, Nicole Hanson. Front row, left to right: Lauren Rudnick, Roman Uribe, Charlie Adams, Hailey Wright, Danielle Erickson and Robin Adams
