CANTON, Ohio — Five swimmers from Gallia County began Thursday’s competition at the 2011 OHSAA Division II Swimming and Diving Meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.

Four of the five swimmers advanced to the final round on Friday in four events.

River Valley’s Katie Blodgett advanced to the finals in two events, while River Valley’s Sarah Blodgett and Trenton Wolfe and Gallia Academy’s Zach Northup each advanced in one event.

Sisters Katie Blodgett — a junior — and Sarah Blodgett — a freshman — swam in the 500 yard freestyle finals. Katie placed 10th with a time of 5:11.83, while Sarah finished 16th with a time of 5:21.49.

Katie Blodgett also advanced to the final round in the 200 yard IM. Katie placed 13th in the event with a time of 2:11.18. She finished 10th in the same event last season.

River Valley freshman Trenton Wolfe advanced to the finals in the 500 yard freestyle event. Trenton finished 13th with a final time of 4:51.42 for the event.

Gallia Academy’s Zach Northup — a senior — advanced to the finals of the 100 yard butterfly for the second consecutive year. Northup finished in 11th place with a time of 53.03 seconds. He was 15th in the 2010 state finals.

In the preliminary round, Northup swam in the 200 yard IM, placing 17th with a time of 2:04.00. Trenton Wolfe placed 18th in the 200 yard freestyle preliminaries with a time of 1:47.15. Sarah Blodgett was 24th in the 200 yard freestyle preliminaries with a time of 2:02.09.

RVHS senior Carissa Wolfe — a three time state qualifier — finished her season in the preliminary round on Thursday. Carissa placed 19th with a time of 1:08.60 in the 100 yard breaststroke. She was 22nd in same event last year.

Overall, the Lady Raiders placed 36th as a team with 12 points. In the boys team standings, Gallia Academy was 42nd with six points and River Valley was 49th with four points.

Both Northup and Carissa Wolfe have signed to swim at Wright State University next season.