An Alameda teenager took part in an Arena Pro U.S. Swimming exhibition in Santa Clara June 3 through 5. 

Alameda High School senior Catherine Boles competed in three events at the renowned swimming exhibition event. She took part in the 100-meter freestyle, the 100-meter backstroke and the 200-meter freestyle. 

Boles, 17, finished in 56th place out of 94 competitors in the 100-meter freestyle preliminary round. She finished the meet in 1:00.04. However, her time was not good enough to make the final round. 

Boles fared much better in the 100-meter backstroke competition. She finished in 40th place, out of 64 swimmers, in the preliminary round with a time of 1:06.94. Her time allowed her to advance to the final round. Boles finished 32nd in the final round with a time 1:06.19, a slight improvement from her preliminary time.

Boles also fared well in the 200-meter freestyle where she finished in 39th place, out of 58 competitors, with a time of 2:07.70. She made the cut to advance to the final round. In the final she came in 35th place, out of 36 swimmers, with a time of 2:07.82. 

The Arena Pro series event is described as a tune-up event before the Olympic Qualifying tournaments held June 26 to July 3 in Omaha, Neb. The event had meets for both male and female. There were 26 meets in all at the event. There were in total seven pro series events throughout the U.S. with the others being held in Minneapolis, Minn.; Austin, Tex.; Orlando, Fla.; Mesa, Ariz.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Indianapolis, Ind.

Boles was one of the youngest participants in the event with many swimmers in their early 20s.Bay Area-based Olympic gold medalists Nathan Adrian and Natalie Coughlin were among the top swimmers who competed in the event. 
Boles graduates from Alameda High tomorrow. She will attend the University of California, Santa Barbara on a swim scholarship this fall. 

While representing AHS, Boles was selected for the West Alameda County Conference All-League Swimming and Diving Team all four years, as the Swimmer of the Year for the last two years and is listed as an All-American and Scholastic All-American. Boles also won the Frank Weeden Memorial Award, which is presented to the most outstanding swimmer in the city of Alameda while she represented Alameda Island Aquatics and Head Coach Bob Radecke, for three consecutive years. Boles now represents the Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks.