UKIAH – The Lake County Channel Cats, coached by Agustin Merodio, showed 18 strong at the Ukiah Dolphin’s swim meet held on the July 4 weekend.

The team, composed of dedicated swimmers from ages 5 to 15, was fit and ready to race the clock alongside 200 competitors representing 17 various clubs from the Redwood Empire, Bay Area and North Coast regions.

The Channel Cats, sporting the new catfish logo on suits and caps, were a visible presence in more than 70 events at this three-day event. In fact, the Channel Cats finished third in team points for this highly competitive meet. This is the highest team finish for the Channel Cats in recent years.

Friday’s competition highlighted open events which tested speed and stamina.

Sarah Merodio, 12, and Allison Hanson, 13, tackled the 1650 yard freestyle, swimming 66 laps of the pool, finishing first and fourth, respectively, in their age divisions.

Teammates, Kim English, 10, Lauren Rudnick, 9, and Koren English, 10, competed in the 200 yard freestyle and took home third, fourth and fifth place awards, respectively, for their efforts. In addition, Kim picked up a 1st place win for a speedy 25 yard freestyle dash.

Distinctive A-time medals were awarded to Kelly Strong, 14, in the 100 yard freestyle, Kim English, in the 200 yard freestyle and Allison Hanson, in the 50 yard freestyle. Sarah Merodio earned two new A-time medals for her efforts in the 100 and 200 yd freestyle events.

Achieving new B-times were Sarah Merodio in the 100 yard fly and 1650 yard freestyle and Lauren Rudnick for the 100 IM, 200 IM, and 200 yard freestyle.

Kelly Strong, Allison Hanson and Kim English all earned new B-times in their age divisions for the 500 yd freestyle. Kim English also made B-time in the 50 yard breaststroke and 100 yard backstroke while her sister Koren, swam a B-time in the 200 yard freestyle.

Matteo Merodio, 15, who has been training with the Santa Rosa Neptune Swim team this summer, rejoined the Cats for the weekend competition, bringing his speed and good humor to the team. He placed first in the 400 IM and 2nd in the 200 yard breaststroke and 500 yard freestyle.

Nadine Bradley, 14, raced to second place in the 100 yard breaststroke, while Kelly Strong won first place in the 200 IM and second place in both the 200 and 500 yard freestyle.

Lauren Rudnick, swam a 400 IM then took to the pool two events later to swim the 100 IM for a fourth place finish. Youngest competitor, Charlie Adams 8, snapped up four first place and two second place wins in freestyle and backstroke events while sister Robin Adams, 5, made a determined dash to the finish for second place and a pair of third place wins in the girls 6 and under division.

Demonstrating solid teamwork, the 9-10 year old girls relay team of Kim and Koren English, Lauren Rudnick, and Shannon Fronsmon charged to a 1st place finish.  Likewise, the 13-14 year old girls relay team of Allison Hanson, Nadine Bradley, Sarah Merodio and Kelly Strong, won their heat, leaving their competition in a wake of bubbles.

New to the team, Jazmin Uribe, 12, diligently swam four events to log official times. Nikki Hanson, Shannon Fronsmon, Noe Urquiza, Candace Clayton, Mariah Rudnick, Flora Ellington and Megan Perry, all gave strong performances, improved their best times, and added to team points.

The Channel Cats practice four evenings a week at the Westshore Pool in Lakeport.

For more information on the team, swim lessons, or Channel Cat events, contact Jennifer Hanson at 707-263-3131.