The Miami University men's and women's swimming and diving teams held the 17th annual Miami Invitational at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.

The women swimmers dominated the meet and took first overall with 2,604 points. The men's team also fared well at the event, taking second place in the overall competition with 1,421 points.

"I think we performed well and put up some times that will compete with those in the top of the MAC conference," senior Lauren Wallace said.

The women's team, which won the Miami Invitational the past two years, beat its closest challenger, Oakland University, by 1,458 points.

Senior Kelsey Vehr added some first place points to the team's score on the first day of the invitational with two first place wins and two second place wins on the second day, and also broke the meet record in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Sophomore Leah Thornton had a successful meet, with two first place events Friday night. Thornton qualified first in the 200-yard backstroke with a new career best time.

Senior Megan Brunn took first in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley, which were her best times yet this season.

"Our goal for this weekend was to have fun," Vehr said. "The Miami Invite is a great practice for the MAC championship, and when it comes to multi-season meets it is easy to lose focus and enthusiasm."

With the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship quickly approaching, the Miami Invitational gives the team insight on how they need to prepare.

"We tapered for this weekend, but not in the sense that we do for the end of the year meets," Vehr said. "This meet shows us where we are and it's really helpful for the coaches to judge where to put us for MAC's and who could be on relays at the end of the year."

The men's swimming and diving team, which came in second, also had many successful individual times.

Junior James Beres took first in the one-meter diving competition and broke the meet record with a score of 388.30.His teammates followed close behind him on the board, also capturing second and third place.

In the pool, Brendon Melling took fourth in the 400 yard individual medley, and senior Jason Hass took fifth in the 200-yard butterfly. Chris Gunnels also did well with a fifth place win in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.45.

The men's and women's swimming and diving teams will resume their season Jan. 12 when they host the University of Evansville.